WELSH MAN’S FAMILY HEARTACHE AFTER WIFE DENIED VISA
AFORMER soldier is being forced to live apart from his wife and children after the Home Office turned down her visa application. Craig Reynolds, from Aberdare, said his Venezuelan wife Francis and three children are living in fear of violence every day and he is desperate to be reunited with them.
To make things worse, Francis gave birth to a little girl just six weeks ago and is struggling to raise her family alone.
Mr Reynolds, who lives in Caerphilly, met Francis in 2005 on holiday in Venezuela, while taking a break from his work as a private security contractor in Iraq.
He said: “I decided on holidaying in Venezuela and while I was there I met and almost instantly fell in love with a beautiful girl who is now my wife. It was a holiday romance and we have never looked back since that first meeting.”
The couple married in December 2006 and had their first son, Diego, in Spain the next year. Their second son Gareth was born in 2009, and the pair had a daughter, Canaima, this year.
Craig, 40, said he had “no choice” but to leave Venezuela in order to find work in the UK and that time apart is “unbearable”.
He currently works as a security manager and is also doing a master’s degree. His children are allowed into the UK but Francis, who is studying electrical engineering at university, is not, and Craig claims he has not been told why.
Craig launched a visa appeal, which takes 18 months to come through the courts, in April. He cannot afford legal representation and is not entitled to legal aid.
The distraught dad said: “This is without a doubt the most difficult period I have ever experienced. Life without my family is simply unbearable. I have a wonderful relationship with my wife and two sons and to be without them is terrible.
“I could not stay in Venezuela due to the work situation and monetary controls and I had to earn money outside of the country in order to pay for the loans and mortgage that I have in Europe. I had no choice other than to leave my family in Venezuela.
“It was an awful decision to make and one that weighs heavily on me every day.” Craig said he hoped Francis, 39, would have her visa by Christmas and the family would be together early next year, but he said that now looks unlikely.
He has now been asked to supply Eng- lish translations of Spanish documents, , which will prove costly, and additionall photographs of his family.
“Every time I talk to my sons on the e phone or make a video call it takes seconds for them to burst into tears and ask me when I will be back or why I’m not t coming home,” he said.
“All I can do is tell them I love themm and that we will be together. But I can- not tell them when. The emotional stresss upon all of us is just terrible.
“My family is slowly but surely being deeply damaged due to this visa situation.”
Life in Venezuela is incredibly difficult, as the country has been plunged into economic turmoil. Hyperinflation makes it incredibly hard to get hold of even basic food, sometimes forcing people to queue for up to 12 hours in tropical heat.
The political instability has split the population and violence is a constant worry for Craig and his family.
He said: “Venezuela suffers from terrible police corruption and from a spiralling crime rate. Violent robberies such as home invasions and car jackings happen daily and stopping at traffic lights at the wrong time in the wrong area can be fatal.
“My children are pale-skinned and blond and draw a lot of attention wherever they go. Letting them out of the house to play in the street with other children is an impossibility. The threat of kidnapping is a constant worry.”
Health problems also riddle the country, with diseases such as zika virus, malaria, dengue fever and chikingunya posing everyday threats.
Mr Reynolds said: “I cannot pay for decent health coverage for my kids. I am petrified about them contracting a disease that cannot be treated. My family needs to leave Venezuela.”
Since Francis’ application was denied, Craig went back to Venezuela for the birth of his daughter but had to come back to Wales in mid October.
He said: “Since April this year I have seen my family for 18 days and we have no idea when we will be together again.”
The Home Office said it does not comment on individual cases.