As you will see from our Testimonials page, we generally only publish comments from former clients if they have given us permission to publish their name and photograph as well. People who have been in the UK illegally, however, are naturally reluctant to have their names and photographs published on a website; for this reason the identity of the people involved in all our case studies has been anonymised. The facts of each case are however true.
Edith is from Ghana, and when she was 20 years old she came to the UK as a visitor. Wanting to make a better life for herself, she stayed on, living with her aunt. When her aunt tried to force her into marriage with a man who was 35 years older than she was, however, Edith ran away.
She didn’t have much money, and things could have gone very badly for Edith had she not met Charles, who like her is from Ghana, but settled in the UK. Edith and Charles were soon in a relationship, and started living together. Some years after they had two children – first their son Robert, and then, two years later, their daughter Ruth. Charles worked as a bus driver and supported his family, and Edith stayed home and looked after the children.
As the children grew older Edith and Charles knew that they would have to do something about Edith’s immigration status, and eventually they came to see us to ask us to help them. They were very clear that they were looking for a solution from within the UK, as they were both terrified that if Edith returned to Ghana to make an application she may not be able to come back to the UK.
We submitted an application with a huge amount of evidence to show Edith’s closeness to her children, and how actively she is involved in their schools as well as in her church and the community. We also wrote very detailed legal representations in support of her application, setting out Edith’s story and then making human rights arguments in support of her right to respect for her life with Charles and the children, as well as arguments about the best interests of the children.
Edith’s application was initially returned because there was a problem with the Home Office accessing their fees, and so we had to update it and send it back, but everything went through smoothly the second time, and within a few months Edith’s application was granted. After being in the UK illegally for eleven years she is now able to work and travel freely, and, eventually, will be able to apply for settlement and then to become a British citizen.
