P’s story is ongoing. After a tortuous journey she successfully claimed asylum for herself in the UK and now lives in Yorkshire. The Refugee Rights Hub are currently offering P the legal advice and support she needs to bring her son, aged 16 to the UK after many years apart.
P was forced into marriage as a young child and had two children with her ex-husband. When she could no longer face her ex-husband’s abuse, she was left with no alternative but to flee the west African country of her birth and accept a domestic role in the middle east.
Unfortunately, P was exploited by an unscrupulous gang and was trafficked to the UK, losing all contact with her children. Once in the UK she bravely escaped her traffickers and began the arduous process of claiming asylum in the UK without the legal help she needed. Her claims were refused multiple times and she became destitute and felt completely hopeless.
Fortunately, she finally received help from charity in Yorkshire, who also arranged for the mental health counselling she needed.
Once P was granted asylum her thoughts turned to reuniting her family. Unfortunately, her daughter is not eligible under the UK’s immigration rules as she is over the age of 18 and already married with her own children.
P began the process of applying for her son, who is 16, to join her and it is at this point that The Refugee Rights Hub began to help. P’s son is part of an ethnic minority in the rural area where he lives and faces a real risk of violence. He is often forced to hide in the bushes with his grandmother for days at a time.
P’s son did not have any ID documents so we had to commission a DNA test in the country’s capital city. This involved making a very dangerous journey to take the test and to lodge his application. P’s son completed this process and was granted a visa to come to the UK.
However, he is still unable to travel because new rules mean he cannot travel on his visa alone, he also needs a passport.
Because his father is no longer in his life, P requires a Power of Attorney document in the UK to give permission for her son to get a passport. This document has been submitted to the relevant overseas embassy in London and once it is approved, P can apply for her son’s passport and hopefully be reunited with her son after many years apart.
