Couple vow they won't be parted by Home Office decision over wife's visa

DETERMINED: Left, housing manager Paul Cooper and his wife, Sokkha, who he met in Cambodia, have lived in the UK for around two years but the couple face quitting the country after the Home Office ruled she must return to Cambodia.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Derby Telegraph (UK)

PAUL Cooper's love for sweetheart Sokkha Mey saw past her frailties – but may not be strong enough to save her from being thrown out of the country.

Graduate Paul was travelling the world when he met Sokkha in her home country of Cambodia in 2005.

Paul said the moment was simply love at first sight.

A railway accident and a childhood disease had left Sokkha deprived of her right arm and barely able to walk, but Paul said her strength of character was incredible.

He said: "I noticed she didn't have her right arm but I also noticed the way she carried on, always smiling.

"When we met, the dazzling qualities of her personality shone through and I saw what a strong and loving person she was."

The couple eventually wed, moved to Britain and had two children.

But now youngsters Angel, three, and Dylan, one, face the prospect of never seeing their mother again – or having to move to a strange country where they have no roots.

Sokkha has been told by the Home Office she must leave because she has not taken a citizenship test.

This is despite another Government ministry, the Department for Work and Pensions, ruling she is "virtually unable to walk".

The Home Office told Sokkha she must return to Cambodia as soon as possible.

Paul, 28, a housing manager, said: "It was never a question of whether she could take the test but whether she was able to get to classes to help her pass and to get to the test centre.

"Sokkha is often in a lot of discomfort with her disabilities. She can walk about as far as 20 metres without stopping and we sometimes use a wheelchair when she really needs help.

"But we try to live a normal life and she spends a lot of time looking after the children. We looked up the guidance to obtaining her visa and never saw any problems.

"This has left us in an awful position."

Last night, after the Derby Telegraph spoke to the Home Office, a spokesman for the UK Border Agency said: "Mrs Cooper has not been given the full rights of appeal to which she is entitled. On that basis we are happy to reconsider her case in full and she will be receiving confirmation of that in writing shortly."

Paul had always planned to go travelling after graduation and it was during a tour of south-east Asia that he met Sokkha.

They first saw each other in Sokkha's parents' bar.

Two years later, the couple had married and, in November 2007, they decided to continue their lives in the UK.

Sokkha, 23, had sought exemption from taking the Life in the UK test, a mandatory part of obtaining a permanent settlement visa, because of her disabilities.

Following guidance from the Home Office, the couple submitted a letter from Sokkha's GP with her visa application, explaining why they prevented her from taking the test.

But the couple, of Killingworth Avenue, Sinfin, were shocked and upset to learn, three months later, that Sokkha's application had been refused because the Home Office did not feel her case was exceptional.

The Life in the UK test, designed to demonstrate a person's knowledge of language and life in this country, consists of 24 multiple-choice questions.

Some applicants are exempt from taking this test if they have a long-standing, permanent disability that severely restricts their mobility and ability to attend language classes.

When applying for settlement, applicants are also asked to send evidence from a medical practitioner.

Sokkha lost her right arm in a train accident as a child and later developed polio.

Paul said the significant wastage in her legs meant she could not place the whole of her foot on the floor while walking and had to use the balls of her feet.

The pair had received an assessment of Sokkha's condition when applying to the Department of Work and Pensions for disability living allowance.

They sent this assessment to the Home Office as part of their application. Paul said: "We did everything we thought we needed to do.

"We sent off evidence to show we were still living together as a couple and bank statements to prove we could keep ourselves.

"Now we've been told she has to leave as soon as possible and that we have limited rights of appeal against the decision."

Paul said that, while it was one thing to help Sokkha to get about when he was around, it was another matter to get time off work to take his wife to the classes and tests.

He said: "The problem comes down to whether or not I can get her to the places she needs to go to complete this test.

"When, for instance, we are at the airport, Sokkha needs a wheelchair to get around but it's all right because she has me.

"But I work a lot and to be able to be there all the time to help would be incredibly difficult, which is why we applied for exemption.

"We will lodge an appeal but we can't even afford legal representation. It's so unfair to think we were living our normal lives and now this has happened."

Before they were married, the pair visited Australia on a joint holiday and their daughter Angel was born in Cambodia.

After getting married in January 2007, Sokkha secured a visitors' permit to come to the UK and, that November, applied for a probationary Leave to Enter visa to stay in the country for two years. Before this expired, she had already applied for permanent settlement in the UK and only received the news days ago that it had been refused.

Paul said the family would not be split up by the decision and, if necessary, would go to live in Cambodia.

He said: "There's no doubt we will stay together but we have no house in Cambodia and it is very difficult to get employment there.

"It's also not fair on our children because they are Anglicised now, having lived here all their lives.

"They are used to English ways and customs and I think the move would be very unsettling for them.

"The worst thing about this is that we have lived here for so long and done nothing wrong to cause this change. We just want to be normal."

Sokkha said: "My children are English and my husband is English and this is where we wanted to start our family and settle into our home.

"Paul is such a nice guy and a very good man and I trust him completely. We love each other for who we are.

"I don't want us to be apart because I need him and my children need me and I don't want them to have to come back to Cambodia.

"It is such a horrible decision and it really has upset us all."