St Albans family with newborn will be “torn apart” after visa application refusal

A devastated St Albans dad-to-be has said his new family will be torn apart when his wife is deported to China.

David Kiff, 32, married Chinese national Wanwan Qiao, 27, last year - and the new Mrs Kiff applied for a spousal visa soon afterwards.

The first application was refused because of an income miscommunication, which David says is now resolved.

Wanwan is now pregnant, and due to give birth in September. They have just received a refusal to the second application, seven months later - during which time she has had no access to NHS treatment to check the health of herself and the baby.

The decision notice letter to Wanwan said: “There is no reason why you and Mr Kiff could not relocate to China and enjoy your family life there.”

Wanwan has lived in England for nearly four years and due to personal circumstances will get no help from relatives in China. David has lived in this country his whole life, and cannot speak any of the Chinese languages.

Their new baby will not have a Chinese visa and so Wanwan would be forced to leave her child when she travels over. She has been told she will have to leave the UK when the baby is about a month old.

The letter admits that the couple are “in a genuine and subsisting relationship”, and relocation “may involve a degree of hardship” - but describes it as not “insurmountable”.

“There would be no significant obstacles to your reintegration to life in China because you were born there, you speak the language and you have family there who could assist with your reintegration, therefore you do not meet the requirements.”

David said it was “absurd” and “disgusting”: “It’s insane, I can’t believe it. We are absolutely devastated, my wife has been crying all night, we haven’t got any sleep.

“She has been having those fake contractions, this is so much stress for her.

“The baby will be torn apart from its mother, how is that ethical?”

David is self-employed, and would not be able to carry on operating his business in China with the language barrier. They are now seeking legal advice because they “will do absolutely anything necessary” to keep the family together.

A spokesperson from the Home Office said: “Ms Qiao’s application was refused on this occasion as it did not meet the immigration rules.

“However, given Ms Qaio’s circumstances we have granted her four months exceptional leave to remain so she can give birth in the UK. Any further visa application from Ms Qiao once she has given birth will be considered.”