Please help us stay in the UK.

My name is Gavin Coleman, I am in a really tough situation at the moment. We are originally from South Africa and have been in the UK for just over 2 years now. Unfortunately not everything has worked out for us and I am facing the possibility of having to move my family back to nothing.

I have British and South African citizenship, Jo and Riley are South African. I made the decision to move us to the UK in 2021 when Riley was 3 years old as I had concerns for her safety and ours and hoped that she would have better opportunities in the UK. The timing was just right as she could start school at age 4 in the UK.

In order to meet the financial requirements for my wife's visa we sold everything we had including our home which had been passed down from my grandfather. My Mom and Aunt, who were both British from birth decided to make the move with us as they were both elderly and would be the last two members of our close family left in South Africa. Unfortunately, 2 months before we were due to leave for CapeTown, my Mom passed away. I blame myself as I am sure it was the stress of such a big move at her age that she just couldn't manage. I had no time to grieve properly and still battle to come to terms with what happened but we were so far in and committed that I had no choice but to carry on.

My Aunt who had been financialy dependent on my Mom for several years was now also in a difficult situation and with no one else to help, she became dependent on us. We moved from the small town we lived in to Cape Town to be closer to the various visa and testing centres we would need to apply for the visa as these were not available in our home town. This was meant to be a 2-3 month stay at most which we were prepared for.

About a week after we submitted our visa application, UK visas and immigration announced that they would not be processing family visas until further notice in order to deal with the humanitarian visas for the people in the Ukraine affected by the Russia/Ukraine conflict. I completely understand how important it was to help people stuck in this terible situation but our application was submitted before we were informed about the change in processing times. We had paid all the fees and could not pull out at this stage. I feel that because we had submitted before the announcement, our application should have been completed in the time frame we had been given as if we knew it could take a year we could have made different decisions.

Throughout the entire time we were waiting we were never given any solid information from UK visas and immigration as to how long it might take but instead had to rely on social media for information. Our lives were thrown into chaos with us having to use our savings to move from one Airbnb to the next and rent a car as we had been using Ubers up to this point. What was meant to be 3 months max turned into a year with the visas being dangled in front of us, maybe next week, maybe next month, hopefully before Christmas and so on.

This situation obviously caused stress and tension in our family as we were going through our savings at an alarming rate, savings that were meant for us to rebuild our lives in the UK. When we eventually arrived at the end of 2022 we were a changed family. Jo and I were stressed, both suffering from depression, we had been fighting allot, all the while trying to keep our daughter oblivious to the situation so she could carry on as normal as possible. It did not help that the landlord of the first house we stayed in refused to give us a lease or put any of the accounts in our name but rather to just send us an amount to pay each month. This meant it was difficult for us to build up a credit score or provide proof of address when needed so everthing we bought had to be cash out of our savings once again.

After several months the landlord informed us that she would be putting the house up for sale at the end of the month. Being desperate and with no landlords willing to deal with us due to having no credit history, previous address or a reference from our previous landlord I made an arrangement with someone I work with who had a house that had been partially stripped as they had planned to renovate it but were now trying to sell it. The arrangement was that if I got the house into a livable state at my own expense I could rent it, which was my suggestion. I understood her situation and she was completely open and honest about everything so having no other options, I went ahead. I had to carpet and lino the whole house and repair what was left of the kitchen. The first house we were in was fully furnished and we had sold all our housewares before leaving South Africa so I had to buy furniture, beds, bedding, curtains appliances etc... all with cash. Fortunately we managed to get allot free on social media or at reasonable prices from charity shops. Nevertheless, this move completely wiped out what was left of our savings, including the amount I had set aside for the visa renewals, and put me in debt as I borrowed from family and even friends I had left back in South Africa. I also had to take some "payday" loans to make it through the months which just snowballed on me.

The large cash expenses in the begining as well as paying back debt has left us batteling with daily expenses and we have not been able to save up the £6000+ needed to renew the visas and pay the NHS costs. My daughter who recently turned 7 is doing well at school, gymnastics and swimming, has made lots of friends, is happy and has adjusted well. She has developed a slight speech impediment for which she has been receiving special treatment at school and I know this kind of treatment would come at a huge cost in South Africa and we probably would not be able to afford it. My Aunt is still living with us. She receives a disability grant as she has hearing loss but has no other income and depends on us for accommodation food etc...

Jo and I both enjoy our jobs and work hard. We have only recently managed to get ourselves a little bit sorted and are starting to see some light however, it seems that it has taken to long to get to this point as the visa renewals are due in a few months and there is no way I can come up with the cash amount needed by then. I would not be able to get a loan as I do not have a good credit score. It would be just awful if we had to leave the UK at this stage when we are almost there. Just this one hurdle left and maybe I can take a breath. We have nothing left in South Africa to go back to as I have lost everything I worked my whole life for. Before this move, neither my wife nor I had ever been out of South Africa, not even on holiday and when we got off the aeroplane at Heathrow, I was completely on my own. I made mistakes, I was overwhelmed, culture shocked and had nobody to ask for advice. Knowing what I know now and with people I have met helping and advising me, I probably would have done things differently but I am convinced that given a bit more time I could pull things together and give my family the life I had planned.

My mental and physical health have gone downhill at at 49 years old I am currently at the lowest point in my life. We would really appreciate any help. Any donations towards the costs will be fantastic but even if you have some advice or ideas that could help us get through this i would be very grateful.

Thank You.