Visa row couple can stay together thanks to
Carin able to stay to look after David
A COUPLE who faced being split up by the Home Office were dramatically given the right to stay together in Scotland last night – and the Record told them the good news.
The UK Government caved in on the same day this newspaper revealed how Carin Connolly faced being sent to Zimbabwe – leaving her paralysed husband behind.
An application for a spousal visa had been rejected with an appeal due next month.
But it took the bureaucrats less than 24 hours to perform a U-turn.
David, 57, is paralysed from the neck down and has relied on Carin, 59, for round-the-clock care since a car accident in the 80s. He is a British citizen but Carin is not.
They built a life in Zimbabwe and Botswana and saw their retirement plans wiped out because of economic and political turmoil in southern Africa.
They how live with their son Marcus in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, and just want to stay together.
A Home Office spokesman confirmed the change at 7pm last night. They said: “Mrs Connolly’s case has been reconsidered and her application has been granted.”
They told the Record before the couple and Carin was astonished to hear the news from our reporter.
She said: “I can’t believe it. This has been such a terrible ordeal. After all this, I can’t quite believe it. I’m so delighted.”
David said: “I will finally be able to sleep. This has been so awful. I’m so grateful to our MSP and the Record for helping.”
Gillian Martin MSP raised the case with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at Holyrood yesterday.
Martin said last night: “I am so delighted for David and Carin who can now get on with their lives and put this behind them.”