icBerkshire, UK
Jan 19 2007

Visa battle goes on for Aremenian wife of disabled man

Jan 19 2007

A DISABLED man and his Armenian wife – currently separated by
thousands of miles – have found themselves in a ‘catch 22’ situation
as Home Office rules threaten their dreams of being together.

Keith and Svetlana Ackrill – who made their home together in St
Chad’s Road, Maidenhead – are now facing an uncertain future after
Armenian native Svetlana’s application for a spouse’s visa hit a
snag.

Svetlana – who was acting as a carer for Keith after he previously
suffered a stroke and who is now paralysed down one side – flew back
to Armenia last week on a one-way ticket, paid for by the Home
Office.

She returned only after the couple were told that she must go back to
Armenia to apply for the spouse’s visa, which would allow her to
remain with Keith, 61, in the UK.

However, the couple have been told that, under immigration rules,
they need to prove that they can support themselves without recourse
to public funds.

Bank statements submitted by the couple as part of the application
have been deemed ‘insufficient’ and now Svetlana, 50, who is a
qualified nurse, has been asked to show the British embassy in
Yerevan proof not just of her qualifications but also of job offers
in the UK.

Keith said the Home Office told the couple nothing of this before
Svetlana left the UK and he has now been frantically phoning around
nursing and care homes in the hope of finding Svetlana a job.

However, things are not proving easy as he told the Express: "I have
come to a full stop.

"It seems everyone would like to meet her or she needs a national
insurance number."

Keith added: "If we’d known before, Svetlana would have got a job
before she went back."

Since Svetlana’s departure Keith – who said he was told that his
wife’s care had saved the NHS thousands of pounds – has refused to
apply for care.

Relatives are dropping by to see that Keith is alright but he told
the Express: "All of this is making me so ill."

The couple met over the internet and wed in Armenia on Christmas Day
2003 and Svetlana made preparations to come to the UK and began the
process of applying for a spouse’s visa.

However, Keith became ill and Svetlana put the application on hold to
rush to England on a visitor visa so she could care for him.

Maidenhead MP Theresa May has now pledged to contact the Home Office
to ask them to look at the Ackrills’ case again.

She told the Express: "I think they have been given the runaround and
I will be getting back in touch with the Home Office."

The Home Office told the Express that they do not comment on
individual cases.