A MOTHER who has been stranded in Africa for the past five months is due to be reunited with her husband and three children.
Asha Omari, of Gerard Avenue, Canley, flew out to Tanga, Tanzania, to attend her mother’s
funeral in December last year.
She was due to fly back to England on January 13, but only got as far as Nairobi, Kenya, as she did not have the correct paperwork, and was sent back to Tanzania.
The paperwork was proof the 37-year-old had been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK. This allows a person to live in the UK as long as they do not leave the country for more than two years.
Her husband Dessa Makoko, 57, frantically began to collect evidence she had ILR status,
and she had not been living in England.
Dessa, a part-time cleaner, said: “We accept we had lost the original document proving her ILR, she only had a photocopy, but she was granted ILR in November 2007.
“When she heard her mother had died, she wanted to be with her family.
“On her way back she got as far as Nairobi when she was told she couldn’t prove she had ILR, or that she had been in the UK two years previously.
“Straight away we sent doctors’ records and pay slips to prove it, but we didn’t hear anything back.”
Mr Makoko, who has been married to Asha for 16 years, had to explain to his three children, Farashuu, 13, Abdul, 10 and Aisha, seven, that their mother was stuck in Tanzania.
“My children were missing their mother so much, the youngest would cry herself to sleep.
“But now we are all so happy to hear she will be back within 10 days. We don’t know what’s changed, but it doesn’t matter.”
A UK Border Agency spokesman said: “A foreign national who has been granted indefinite leave to
remain in the UK will lose that entitlement if they cannot prove that they have been in the UK during the last two years.
“In light of new evidence provided in support of her claim, Ms Omari has now been granted an entry clearance.”
No comments:
Post a Comment