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Newlywed Welshman cannot bring wife to UK as he’s not British
| Published: | 21 Mar at 6 PM |
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The UK Border Agency has made its perhaps most embarrassing mistake ever when it forbade a British citizen leave to bring his new Canadian wife to the UK as ‘her husband is not a British citizen’.
Craig Colville is one of a pair of twins born in North Wales. His identical twin brother, Scott, has never had a problem with proving his British nationality, but Craig’s more adventurous life found him working on a cruise ship where he met and fell in love with a Canadian girl called
Crystal.
The happy couple married in Llangollen, Wales, last year, while Crystal was in the UK on a temporary visa. After the wedding, the new Mrs Colville sent her application to become a permanent resident to the Home Office, accompanied by her husband’s British passport.
The application, amazingly, was refused on the grounds that Craig was neither a British citizen nor a refugee and therefore did not have settled status, and the couple were advised that an appeal against the refusal could be lodged within a set period of 10 working days.
The Border Agency, however, had blundered yet again, as the correct time was 10 consecutive days.
The appeal, made within the original given timescale, was disallowed, and the Colvilles were told to lodge yet another appeal against the disallowed appeal. Not surprisingly, Craig is furious at the UKBA’s inefficiency, and not best pleased that he might have to leave his home country as his wife is now facing deportation if the appeal against the refusal to allow the first appeal is unsuccessful.
The final straw for the couple is that both Crystal’s grandparents were British-born migrants to Canada, which could have given her the right to British citizenship. Local MP Stephen Mosely is writing to the UKBA on the couple’s behalf, but the result is anyone’s guess.
Craig Colville is one of a pair of twins born in North Wales. His identical twin brother, Scott, has never had a problem with proving his British nationality, but Craig’s more adventurous life found him working on a cruise ship where he met and fell in love with a Canadian girl called
Crystal.
The happy couple married in Llangollen, Wales, last year, while Crystal was in the UK on a temporary visa. After the wedding, the new Mrs Colville sent her application to become a permanent resident to the Home Office, accompanied by her husband’s British passport.
The application, amazingly, was refused on the grounds that Craig was neither a British citizen nor a refugee and therefore did not have settled status, and the couple were advised that an appeal against the refusal could be lodged within a set period of 10 working days.
The Border Agency, however, had blundered yet again, as the correct time was 10 consecutive days.
The appeal, made within the original given timescale, was disallowed, and the Colvilles were told to lodge yet another appeal against the disallowed appeal. Not surprisingly, Craig is furious at the UKBA’s inefficiency, and not best pleased that he might have to leave his home country as his wife is now facing deportation if the appeal against the refusal to allow the first appeal is unsuccessful.
The final straw for the couple is that both Crystal’s grandparents were British-born migrants to Canada, which could have given her the right to British citizenship. Local MP Stephen Mosely is writing to the UKBA on the couple’s behalf, but the result is anyone’s guess.
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