A Burnley mum is counting down the days when she will finally be reunited with her husband and their two children after red tape rules over visas kept them apart, on opposite sides of the world.

The couple are keen to get their story heard to make other families, who may be going through the same process, aware of the obstacles they could face. But, for fear of any reprisals, they have asked us not to identify them.

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‘Ami’ is currently waiting to welcome her two children, aged five and one, back into the UK from Australia. But her husband ‘David’ will have to remain in Australia until his visa application, which they applied for in July, is processed.

A Burnley mum's plan to return home from Australia with her husband and their two children has been scuppered by complicated and restrictive red tape visa rules

Bearing up under the separation, Ami never dreamed she would face such hurdles to settle back in her hometown and she has spoken out about the ordeal the family has gone through in a bid to make other families aware of the ‘ nonsensical and unjust visa process.’

Ami said: “We never dreamed that moving back to the UK would be such a long and arduous process that has seen us, as a family, living separately for so long.”

Together for 10 years and married for eight, the couple met Down Under after Ami moved out there. During covid, and when they discovered they were expecting for a second time, the family decided to re-locate to the UK. “I was ready to bring my children up and have a settled family life back in my hometown,” said Ami.

The current policy to qualify for a family visa to be obtained by someone over the age of 35, with dependents, is that you either need to have £88k in savings, untouched for six months, or the native British partner has to work for a minimum of six months earning at least £29k in order to ‘sponsor’ the foreign partner to come over.

A Burnley mum has slammed 'unjust and nonsensical' visa rules that mean her Australian husband and their two children have been separated for months

Ami said: “We didn’t qualify under the savings banner but fortunately I was able to get a job as an admin assistant earning that salary. But how many people in Burnley and the surrounding areas would be able to afford to do this?”

Accountant David was forced to return to Australia from the couple’s home in Rossendale, with the children, when his visitor visa expired in June. This meant uprooting the children, who had settled into the community and were attending nursery and school, as being in full-time work, Ami was unable to financially support having the kids in full-time care whilst David was back in Australia.

Ami contacted her MP Andy Mc Nae, and he has presented the couple’s case to the Home Office for a review on the current rules. Ami has also sought advice from Reunite Families UK, an organisation that explores the impacts of the UK’s spouse/partner migration rules, which are some of the harshest in the world.

Ami added: “We are hard working, educated young parents who have already assimilated into our local community.

“Yet we’re being penalised, seemingly due to the many cases that abuse the system. But all we want to do is settle back in my hometown, bring up our family and contribute to the economy. We facetime and are in regular contact but so much precious time has been lost.”