Wait goes on for deported wife
WOMAN WAS SENT ‘HOME’ AFTER 27 YEARS OF MARRIAGE
THE husband of a woman deported to Singapore after 27 years of marriage is hoping to find out her fate within the next month.
Irene Clennell has had to re-apply for permission to return and live in the UK after being sent back to her country of origin in February.
The 53-year-old’s indefinite leave to remain lapsed after spending several years back in Singapore caring for her elderly parents.
Irene had been living in Ouston, near Chester-leStreet, with her husband of almost 30 years, John.
The couple have two grown up sons as well as a one-year-old granddaughter. Now John has said he is waiting to hear back from the Home Office to see if Irene can return.
And the 50-yearold is hopeful the family will be reunited soon.
“I’m confident this will get her back – she’s entitled to be here, she’s been entitled for years.”
A campaign to raise the legal fees for Irene’s case has raised more than £56,000 in the past six months.
Earlier this month her sister-in-law Angela Clennell posted on the online page: “Her solicitor has submitted the relevant paperwork but we are still awaiting a response from the Home Office, other than that there is little to tell. As you can imagine this is very stressful and has been a long drawn out process but hopefully we will receive some news soon. We are hoping it’s good news otherwise we will be looking at how to go forward.”
Irene was held in a Scottish detention centre for several weeks before being deported to Singapore in February.
Speaking after her deportation, Irene said in an interview that the government had “treated her like a terrorist”.
She said: “It is a bloody disgrace, they treat me like a terrorist and anything else under the sun.
“They embarrass me in front of everybody, the only thing I did wrong was marry a British man and want to stay in the country with my kids and my husband. I have never done wrong to anybody, all I want is my family and this is what I get.”
The Home Office states that where a person is granted indefinite leave to remain, it will lapse if they live outside the UK for two years or more.
They say Irene last entered the UK as a visitor in 2013 and went on to make an application to remain as the spouse of her husband. This was refused and her appeal rights were exhausted in July 2014, she therefore has had no legal basis to remain in the country since 2014.
Irene’s husband John was a gas mains layer for many years but had to stop work through ill health. His wife had become his principal carer.
I have never done wrong to anybody, all I want is my family and this is what I get. Irene Clennell