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A man from Kenya who has lived in the UK for 30 years is taking the next step in a long and expensive legal battle to bring his wife and family here.<\/p>\n
Henry Maina got married in 2020 and said he had spent \u00a325,000 trying to bring his family together, including his daughter and his wife’s two sons from a previous relationship.<\/p>\n
The family is now taking the case to the Upper Tribunal court after their appeal was rejected.<\/p>\n
The Home Office said they could not comment on individual cases while a legal process was ongoing.<\/p>\n
Mr Maina, who is a software engineer living in Gloucester, said being apart from his family was “devastating” as they were “virtually living two lives.”<\/p>\n
He and his wife Mary Njeri Kiarie met in Kenya in 2019, getting married in 2020 in the UK – but Mrs Njeri Kiari had to return to Kenya when her visa expired.<\/p>\n
The couple have since had a daughter but have not lived together for five years.<\/p>\n
“It’s been difficult, us virtually living two lives, them over there and me over here,” Mr Maina said, adding it had been a stressful time for the whole family.<\/p>\n
“Jayna, my little one, sometimes she cries over the phone, she wants to come here and be with me.”<\/p>\n