Care worker's family told they must return to Ghana

A care worker's family have been told they must return to Ghana after they were unable to afford the cost of replacement visas.

Esther Kondu, her husband Osei, and their three primary school age daughters were told they had to get new visas when the company that had sponsored her to come to Britain had its licence revoked by the Home Office.

The family said they could not afford the £2,755 cost on top of the expense of moving to Britain, and after the employer failed to come up with the promised work.

The Home Office said it does not comment on individual cases.

The family moved to Britain in November 2022 after Esther was granted a visa as a health and care worker.

She and Osei, who worked as teachers in Ghana, originally arrived in the Midlands, but they said work failed to materialise, and the firm that sponsored Esther has gone into liquidation.

Osei got a job as a carer through his dependent's visa and applied to join the army, while Esther cared for their daughters, now aged three, four and six.

The family then moved to Reading, after receiving a letter in 2023 saying their visas had been cancelled - despite having almost two years left on them.

Esther was given 60 days to find a new sponsor, which she said was "terrible", but found a job as a carer and paid £551 for a new five-year visa.

She explained: "It was frightening, I didn't know what to do, I was shocked."

After a month in her new role, the family paid for the remaining visa applications, but the 60-day deadline had passed and all four were turned down.

"It's really been tough. It's been hell," said Osei.

"We came in the country and within one year the sponsor's licence has been revoked, through no fault of our own, so we think the fee should have been waived."

His army assessments and training at Catterick have since been put on hold because of the situation.

Osei added: "I'd put in a lot of hard work, so my kids keep asking me 'when are you joining the British Army?'

"As I speak now, I still don't have my right to work, so I'm stuck in the house."

Immigration lawyer Clement Mensah is handling the family's case for free as they seek an administrative review of the Home Office decision.

He said the Home Office had a duty to carry out more thorough checks on those it licences to sponsor migrants.

Reading Central MP Matt Rodda has said he will be writing to the immigration minister, and the Home Office needed to "treat the family decently".

He added: "These are people who are working hard, they're doing vital work for the country, making a real contribution, they should be treated properly."

A Home Office spokesperson said they had revoked approximately 450 sponsor licences in the care sector since July 2022 as it "continues to clampdown on abuse".

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