A German biophysicist and his neurophysicist wife have told how they were separated from their baby amid Home Office delays in processing a post-Brexit residency application for their baby girl.
Darius, an associate professor at a Russell Group university in England, and his Indian wife, Sunaina, arrived in the UK before Brexit and had established status, giving them and their immediate family the right to reside in the country
But the couple decided to have their baby, Anouk, in India in July to allow Sunaina’s parents to support her as it was their first child.
After waiting 12 weeks for the baby’s leave to arrive, they faced the difficult choice of returning to London to resume work and leaving Anouk with her grandmother.
Sunaina and Darius knew the baby was in safe and loving hands, but said it was a traumatic experience no new mother should have to face because of Brexit.
“Being separated from your four-month-old baby was hard. I don’t think I can even describe in words how it felt. I felt so anxious wondering if he will forget me and how hard it will be to bond when he comes back with me,” said Sunaina, who is now back in London.
Knowing they had to get family leave to return to the UK under EU settlement rules, the couple applied for a passport for Anouk at the German embassy as soon as they got her certificate of birth and applied for the baby’s permit. on the 4th of August.
“We figured there’s not a lot of background checks they can do on a newborn, so a few months at the latest we’d be fine,” Darius said.
It had taken just two weeks to get the child’s birth certificate from the German consulate in Calcutta, with a passport a few days later.
They then took Anouk to the VFS visa application offices to obtain the biometrics required by the Home Office and applied for family leave under the EU settlement scheme.
Hopes were briefly raised for UK Visa and Immigration in London in mid-September after he responded to an enquiry, telling the couple that their application was “in the process of being decided and it shouldn’t take long month”.
But they were quickly discouraged when the couple went to a follow-up inquiry in October without hearing anything and were told the case was being prepared but not yet before a decision-maker.
“They don’t give deadlines on the website, so you’re left with uncertainty about when to book flights, when we could bring the baby home,” Darius said.
“We were very confused because it contradicted what we had been told before and we began to think that we could not trust this,” he added.
Darius returned to London on his own in September to resume work while Sunaina was under pressure to return after her maternity leave to meet the postdoctoral contract deadline. “They were all bad choices. It wasn’t easy at all,” he said.
The couple then made Sunaina’s “incredibly tough” decision to return home and leave Anouk with the child’s grandmother and extended family in India.
“It has been one of the most difficult things I have done in my life. Until the moment I boarded the flight I was in two minds about whether I wanted to go back or whether I should keep the baby,” said Sunaina.
Back in London for just a week in early November, he decided he would get on a plane and come back if Anouk didn’t settle.
The German embassy confirmed to the couple this week that a visa for Anouk had now been approved and would be issued in the coming days.
A Home Office spokesman said he could not discuss individual cases but added: “Family leave is allocated for consideration in order of date of receipt. Cases are concluded as soon as possible but waiting times may vary depending on the volumes received and the complexity of the cases.”
Sunaina said she was relieved to hear a visa was on the way, but wanted to speak out to ensure other EU citizens or their spouses with post-Brexit UK residency rights did not have to go through the experience stressful
“The system needs to be improved. I understand that the Home Office is under pressure and they are dealing with a lot of issues around immigration, but just knowing some sort of timeline as to when you can bring your baby home would be a important step in the right direction,” said Sunaina.