Brian Edwards, from Wallasey in the Wirral, Merseyside, said he needs the help of his Brazilian wife – who can only stay in the UK temporarily – to live a normal life
An elderly Brit in declining health has been left “helpless” and fears he will be “unable to cope” without his wife after she was forced to return to her home country.
Brian Edwards, 88, from Wallasey in the Wirral, Merseyside, has been unwell for the last few years and was recently diagnosed with a leaking valve in his heart. He has needed the support of his wife Neiva, 79, to cope with his ill health, but the two have a major barrier preventing them from living together full-time.
Neiva, a Brazilian national, can only spend six months at a time living in the UK under current immigration laws, and to stay together, the couple would take turns visiting each other’s countries. Due to his health, Mr Edwards won’t be able to make the overseas trip when his wife leaves in March, and the only other avenue to keep them together is out of reach.
Speaking to the Liverpool ECHO, Mr Edwards said he and his wife are seeking a spousal visa, a document that would allow Neiva to stay in the UK and take care of him. But to be eligible, the couple needs a minimum income of at least £29,000, or, alternatively, £88,500 in savings.
While the couple receive a pension, they have neither total, nor do they have a combination of the two also permitted in the eligibility criteria, either in cash or personal bank accounts. Brian, whose son and daughter have both died, has no other family members who could take care of him.
He told the ECHO: “I’ve been ill for the last few years and now I’ve been diagnosed with a leaking valve in my heart. I need my wife here now all the time to help me. I just can’t cope on my own now. I can just about get up the stairs. She does everything. Without my wife I’m absolutely helpless.”
Brian uses a walker to get around, but can’t stay active for too long as he starts to feel dizzy or feels faint. He said: “If I do too much walking, my heart doesn’t get the blood to the areas and I start to go dizzy, as if I’m about to faint. When I’m walking, I’m starving my brain of oxygen, and next thing I know I have to stop walking and sit down because my head’s spinning and I’ve got double vision.”
Travelling abroad in line with the couple’s arrangements – which they have held since marrying in Wallasey in 2014 – is now out of the question. He said: “It suited us. At our age we’re quite happy to spend six months with each other. She can come here for a few months, I can go there for a few months. But now I just can’t travel.
“I haven’t even been on the new trains and the station is only at the bottom of the road. I can’t even get on the train, let alone fly.”
