A couple who have been married for 45 years are facing difficulties in obtaining a UK visa for the wife, Maria Summers.
Mrs Summers was hoping to settle in Hereford with her husband David, the Hereford Times reported. But unfortunately the pair have been embroiled in a UK visa battle after Mrs Summers, 66, was refused a permanent visa last year.
Reports indicate that the visa was withheld when authorities did not believe that the pair were in an “affectionate relationship”. She has now been allowed back into the country, but the couple only have until August to file a successful second claim for a visa or Mrs Summers risks being rejected from the country for good.
She told the paper: "I have to leave by August 23. If I don't have a visa by that time then I will not be able to return."
As a Dutch-born Canadian, she had previously settled with Mr Summers in Canada but they opted to return to the UK to care for Mr Summers' elderly mother. They have their own house and a son with a British passport.
The case will now be put to an appeal judge who will decide how to proceed. It's clear that the community support the couple and even the Hereford MP Jesse Norman has said that the immigration staff treated the couple “outrageously”.
Mr Summers told the paper: “At the moment though we are not even concerned about what will happen. We're just enjoying each other's company again.”