LONDON: The UK Home Office has been urged to look again at how it enforces visa rules after it threatened a 13-month-old with removal from the country to ensure the “integrity” of immigration law, Sky News reported on Friday.
Massah was born to Jordanian parents in the UK who have been living legally in the country since 2021.
However, the family went on holiday in January this year, before Massah’s status in the UK was confirmed, meaning the child technically reentered the country as a tourist.
Despite applying for a child-dependent visa for the baby girl, her parents were told this month that Massah “will be required to immediately leave the UK.” She will then need to have her visa reapplied for from overseas.
In a letter to Massah’s parents, the Home Office said: “In the particular circumstances of your case, it has been concluded that the need to maintain the integrity of the immigration laws outweighs the possible effect on you/your children.”
Massah’s father Mohammed said the family fear that if they return with Massah to Jordan to reapply, the application will still be dismissed.
He added that he and Massah’s mother are worried about regional instability, and that the situation is giving them sleepless nights.
“I can’t imagine how I can tell (Massah) the story in the future that the country you (were) born (in) asked you to leave while you (were) a year old,” Mohammed told Sky News.
“I’m trying to fix everything. I don’t need to consider a one-year-old infant as an overstayer here.”
A Home Office spokesperson told Sky News: “All visa applications are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with the immigration rules.
“We are working closely with the parents of this child to ensure they receive the support and direction they require regarding the application.”
The issue of immigration law is set to become a central point of the UK’s general election, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced this week that the country will go to the polls on July 4.
The announcement came the day before figures were released showing that net immigration to the UK had dropped slightly over the previous 12 months.
