A man from Kenya who has lived in the UK for 30 years is taking the next step in a long and expensive legal battle to bring his wife and family here.
Henry Maina got married in 2020 and said he had spent £25,000 trying to bring his family together, including his daughter and his wife’s two sons from a previous relationship.
The family is now taking the case to the Upper Tribunal court after their appeal was rejected.
The Home Office said they could not comment on individual cases while a legal process was ongoing.
Mr Maina, who is a software engineer living in Gloucester, said being apart from his family was “devastating” as they were “virtually living two lives.”
He and his wife Mary Njeri Kiarie met in Kenya in 2019, getting married in 2020 in the UK – but Mrs Njeri Kiari had to return to Kenya when her visa expired.
The couple have since had a daughter but have not lived together for five years.
“It’s been difficult, us virtually living two lives, them over there and me over here,” Mr Maina said, adding it had been a stressful time for the whole family.
“Jayna, my little one, sometimes she cries over the phone, she wants to come here and be with me.”
Mrs Njeri Kiari has two sons from a previous relationship [BBC]
Mr Maina has lived in the UK for 30 years but does not have a visa that gives him “indefinite leave to remain”.
It means his wife, daughter and step sons cannot come over on his visa.
But Mr Maina believes they should be able to, as he said he had always paid tax and national insurance, never claiming benefits.
“My wife, as soon as she comes, she wants to go into a social care job so it’s not like we will be living off state benefits.”
He said £25,000 had been spent on the case so far with more costs expected to come when it went before the Upper Tribunal – Mr Mania says he is attempting to crowd fund some of the bills.
The BBC contacted the Home Office, which told us it could not comment on individual cases, especially when legal proceedings were ongoing.
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