I come with good news…
I am glad to announce the Home Office has lifted the ban on May Brown’s sister entering the UK. It was confirmed late yesterday.
An official statement from the Home Office reads:
Immigration Minister, Robert Goodwill, said:
“I have carefully considered the case of May Brown and decided that her sister will be granted leave to enter the UK given the compassionate and exceptional circumstances.”
- All visa applications are considered on their individual merits, and applicants must provide evidence to show they meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules.
- On 5 October 2016, Adamma Martha Williams was refused a visa to travel to the UK on the basis that she did not meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules.
- In the light of the circumstances of this case, the Immigration Minister, Robert Goodwill, reviewed the case and decided a grant of leave should be made outside of the Immigration Rules on compassionate grounds.
- UKVI in Nigeria has been in contact with Ms. Williams directly to inform her of the decision.
On behalf of May Brown and ACLT, I would like to thank each of the 60,924 (wow!) who signed the petition. If you shared the story too, a double thank you! It’s amazing what was achieved in just under a week!
May screamed and cried tears of joy when we spoke yesterday. It was so emotional to see. She just can’t stop smiling!
May said:
“I am overjoyed for the u-turn the Home Office has taken regarding my sister Martha’s visa application. I would like to thank every single person who signed the petition! Your support is what has kept me positive. I would also like to thank ACLT. I will forever be grateful for the love and support they have shown my family and me.”
Please support the amazing work of this charity. Visit aclt.org to find out how.
This result just reconfirms what amazing things can be achieved with focus, passion and a determination to succeed. May still has a long way to go, but for now, we will join her to celebrate this amazing news.”
Whoop! Thank you.
Ronke x
Background
The girl in the picture above is May Brown. She’s in her early 20’s, married to a British ex soldier, she’s the mum of two-year old year old Selina May, and she’s spent the last approximately two years battling Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.
Doctors have said May’s only chance of survival is to receive a stem cell transplant from someone with a matching tissue type to her. Her Nigerian sister Martha is amazingly a 10 out of 10 match – but the Home Office refused to give Martha a visa so she can come to the UK and give her sister the transplant she needs.
The whole trip from Nigeria to the UK will be paid for by May but the Home Office stated “I am also aware [sic] your sponsor proposes to finance your proposed trip, but I must take into account your personal and economic circumstances in Nigeria when coming to my decision.”
The visa refusal letter ended with “Given the above I am not satisfied that you are a genuine visitor and will leave the UK at the end of your visit or that you have sufficient funds available to cover your costs whilst in the UK without working or accessing public funds.” According to immigration rules it appeared May’s sister Martha was too poor to visit England, and if she comes here she won’t leave.
Martha has no intention of staying in the UK, her whole life is in Nigeria – she has two little kids who will be looked after by their Grandma whilst she is in the UK donating her bone marrow. All she wants to do here is save her sister’s life.
I work for a blood cancer charity, the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, and for the last 9 months we have been working with May. Doctors at May’s hospital have said they are “running out of time” to perform the transplant.
Finding a 10 out of 10 stem cell match is incredibly rare, and having her sister come and do the transplant now is her only chance to ever get out of hospital and back home with her daughter.
It is heartbreaking to see unfair bureaucratic red tape being put in the way of saving a young mum’s life.
In hospital May said to me “Only a six hour journey will help save my life. My two year old daughter Selina needs me… To know my life isn’t important to those who have the power to help me is deeply upsetting.”
Campaigns, like the one for Andrea Gada and Isaac Aganozor got the Home Office and UK Visa and Immigration to issue visas on compassionate grounds before. Thanks to enough public pressure and support for the petition they were convinced to show compassion now.
