Wolverhampton man forced to leave family over visa issues

Dean Homer was told by the Home Office that he needs a lump sum in savings if he wants to bring his wife and two children to Britain without securing employment first.

The 48-year-old, who grew up in Wednesfield, put out a plea to the public to help him raise the £62,500 required, but his crowdfunding page managed to secure only £335 in pledges.

Mr Homer now says he will be forced to spend months apart from his family while he returns alone to the UK to find work.

He said: "We are desperate for the family not to be split up, but it looks like I'm going to have to leave them and come back to find a job. It's a depressing situation."

He and his wife, Meljie, 42, have two children, Charlotte, 16, and James, three. They met in Singapore in 1996, when both working on a cruise ship, married the following year, and later moved to the Philippines.

On March 29, he launched an appeal for money on GoFundMe.com, a crowdfunding site which allows anonymous or named donors from across the globe to give money for various causes.

Mr Homer only raised £335 of his proposed £62,500 from five donors after sharing the cause on Facebook.

He said he was disappointed that he couldn't get any momentum behind his cause.

Mr Homer is hoping to bring his family over to live in Wolverhampton after losing his job as operations manager for a photography concessionaire onboard Star Cruises.

Another reason for moving back to Britain was wanting to care for his elderly mother who has health problems.

But the family was defeated by laws which require the British half of a couple to earn more than £18,600 before they can move here with their non-EU partner.

Alternatively the family needed to have £62,500 saved.

This was part of a Conservative pledge to cap immigration, brought in in 2012.

Mr Homer said his wife passed all the requirements to secure a UK visa except the financial one. "She did an English language test and passed with flying colours," he added.

"My kids are British, but that doesn't seem to mean anything. It's extremely upsetting that the visa laws can split a family up like this."

On his GoFundMe page Mr Homer wrote: "I've always been independent and paid my own way in life. So I find asking for any kind of charity very humbling and embarrassing."

Yet, he explained: "I was desperate. I just couldn't find the money anywhere else. I went around asking family, friends, everyone. No one's got that much money. It's a huge amount."

Mr Homer and his family are now preparing for him to return to the UK to find work.

"We could be apart for a year or even 18 months. It's ridiculous. I don't know how long it will take me to find a job that will pay that kind of money.

"Then after six months I have to reapply for a visa and wait for them to approve it."

But Mr Homer is determined that his family will eventually leave the Philippines to settle down in the UK. He said: "I'd like our children to grow up in the UK and adopt the British culture.

"I want opportunities and the best start in life for my son."

After his experiences, he feels strongly that the visa laws need revising.

"I'm very disappointed with the Home Office, I feel they are heartless," he said. "Breaking up my family seems totally acceptable to them. £62,500 is a ridiculous amount to ask us for."