A charity supporting an Eritrean family that waited three years to be reunited has accused the Home Office of “inexcusably long” delays.<\/p>\n
Eight-year-old Luilana’s visa to get to the UK was initially refused in 2021 but successfully appealed a year later.<\/p>\n
She was then, however, forced to flee war, travelling between three countries before meeting her mother again this month in Birmingham.<\/p>\n
The Home Office has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n
“Every day she was all I dreamed of, and I worried if she was alive or dead,” said Luilana’s mother, Yordanos, who arrived in the UK in 2020.<\/p>\n
“Had I not had Luilana with me now, I would have lived my life divided in two. It really is a blessing that she is here with me.”<\/p>\n
The Refugee and Migrant Centre charity said the family should have been together much sooner, maintaining that despite meeting criteria to legally bring a child into the UK, they faced obstacles that could have been avoided.<\/p>\n