LAST month The National revealed the father of a baby with serious health problems had been granted a visa to join his family in Glasgow in a Home Office U-turn.
But now Didin Haryadi’s Scottish wife has told how she and baby Julian are set to leave the country, because the Indonesian national has been kept away by a passport row.
Officials informed Jane Lunday that her partner would be allowed to come to Scotland as their son prepared for major surgery.
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The Scots-born youngster, who is just 11 months old, has complex organ problems and his father, who has been trained by NHS nurses, is his primary carer.
However, they were separated after officials ruled Haryadi could not have a spousal visa in order to live with his family in the UK permanently.
The decision was overturned last month and Haryadi submitted his passport to officials in Jakarta for processing.
At the time, the family imagined it would be a matter of days before they were reunited. But more than a month on, they are still apart as his passport has yet to be returned.
Lunday says she has been unable to get to answers to questions about where it is, when it will be returned or whether the fault lies with UK Government staff or contractor VFS Global. Helpline calls cost £1.37 a minute and email responses carry a £5.48 charge and Lunday has racked up large bills trying to resolve the situation.
Meanwhile, Julian’s health has deteriorated without his father’s round-the-clock care. Doctors have been forced to postpone procedures because his weight has plummeted and he was admitted to hospital this week with a serious infection.
Even before that, the expert team leading his treatment said planned surgeries – which follow five previous ops – should be put off until his father is with them.
Julian, who spent the first month of his life in intensive care, has now been released but Lunday says their future in Scotland is untenable without Haryadi and they will have to return to Indonesia unless he is allowed to join them.
She said: “I am compromising Julian’s care by trying to do it alone. I can’t wait much longer.”
The couple met while Jane was working in Bali and planned a life there until Julian’s health problems were detected before birth. Haryadi travelled to Scotland on a tourist visa – the quickest available – and their son was born here with a single kidney, bladder and bowel problems, high blood pressure and anaemia.
They later flew back to Indonesia to avoid breaking immigration rules. Lunday and Julian returned home to Scotland after submitting the £3500 spousal visa application. Lunday blames the prolonged separation from his father for a deterioration in her son’s health, saying: “It’s really affecting Julian. For some things, he has to be held down by another person to actually carry out some changes every day. I have to ask someone else to help and it’s not fair on Julian.
“The doctors understand how hard it is to do his personal care and aren’t happy with his weight. They want it to go back up for the operation.”
Lunday went on: “It’s just a waiting game. Even if they could give me a timeline, I could prepare. But looking at previous cases, it can take months.”
The Home Office failed to answer The National’s questions about why it is taking so long to bring Haryadi back to Scotland.
Using a stock line, a spokesperson said: “All applications for settlement visas are carefully considered on their individual merits.”
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