Children who have been left heartbroken following months of separation from their dad will finally be reunited after being granted permission to move to the UK.
Mum Jessica Mason said her young children repeatedly asked her why their dad wasn't around as they awaited permission from the Home Office for him to join the family in Newcastle. And there was further heartbreak last week when Jessica received a letter to say her husband, Sanas Sahib, who is originally from Dubai, had his visa application rejected.
Jessica, 36, from Heaton, said she had to force herself not to cry in front of her two children, Tariq, eight, and Layla, three, when she opened the UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) letter to learn that her family's situation had not been deemed "exceptional enough" for Sanas to move to the UK from Sri Lanka, where the family had been living since 2017.
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But today there was joy as Jessica was informed that the Home Office had reviewed his application and had decided to grant Sanas' visa application.
Jessica, who is originally from Berwick, said: "I'm so relieved and happy, it's just so good to know that he'll finally be with us again."
She added: "I've told the children and they're happy. My eight-year-old understands a bit more and he's so excited that he's so happy, and really looking forward to being able to play cricket with his dad again."
Jessica and Sanas, also 36, made the decision to permanently move to the UK with their children in April 2022 due to the ongoing financial crisis in Sri Lanka. They had originally planned to visit the UK for a holiday and applied for a visitor visa for Sanas in the hope that the situation in Sri Lanka would resolve in the coming months.
However, with civil unrest mounting, medical supplies running low and vital gas for households becoming harder to source, the couple made the decision that it was in the interests of the children to move forward with their plans to return to Jessica's native North East permanently.
It had always been their plan to return to the North East in a few years to settle with their children and be around Jessica's large close-knit family. And when Sanas received his passport back from the Home Office in July, following cancellation his visitor visa application, the family began the process of applying for Sanas to live permanently in the UK.
However, Jessica explained that the ordeal her family have gone through over the last 10 months to obtain the visa has had a huge impact on the family, particularly Tariq and Layla who have been unable to understand why their dad wasn't living with them.
Jessica added: "They cry every night asking when they're going to see daddy. They say they want daddy time, for him to read them a story and sing daddy's song. How do I explain this system to a three and eight year old?"
The couple, who met in Dubai in 2012 and married in 2014, applied for a family visa for Sanas as Jessica works as a self-employed English teacher and has lived outside of the UK for a number of years. And therefore it was believed she would be deemed unable to meet the requirements of a spousal visa, which states a spouse must have enough money to support their family without claiming public funds.
Jessica and the children were able to move to the UK as they each hold British Citizenship. And thankfully Jessica's mum offered to provide 'third party support' and support the family financially if needed, allowing Jessica and Sanas proceeded with their family visa application.
In addition to their application, Jessica added that she submitted documents and evidence to support their application, including reports from Tariq and Layla's school stating that the children were struggling without their dad.
Jessica said she also highlighted that Sanas had been offered a hospitality job in the UK and that her landlord had agreed for Sanas to move into their rented home. But on January 13 she received a letter to say that their family visa application had been rejected.
After the setback, Jessica said: "My husband's visa application was rejected because the Home Office do not accept that our situation is 'exceptional' enough to use third party financial support and that a refusal of the visa does not cause 'harsh consequences' to me or my children.
"My children are heartbroken because they can't be with their dad. He provided full-time care for them throughout the pandemic while I was working. He's been so hands on and has been a big part of their life. How can I tell them that I don't know when they're going to see him again?
"These applications must be looked over so many times for a decision to be made but I don't believe for one second that any decent human being would look at that application and decide that our situation isn't 'exceptional' enough and the children shouldn't be with their dad."
Jessica added that the Home Office suggested in their refusal letter that she reapplies when she completes a full year of self employment, which would cost an additional £1,800. ChronicleLive contacted the Home Office and was informed that the family's visa application has now been reviewed and accepted.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We work to process visa applications fairly and as quickly as possible, based on the evidence provided and in accordance with the immigration rules.
"In this instance we have been able to review our initial decision and can confirm that we have issued a visa to Mr Sahib."
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