A woman who has lived in Manchester for four years and runs a business from Afflecks' Palace could be forced to leave the country, in an 'awful' visa mix-up.
Now husband and wife, they live with their cat Sugar Cube in Withington. The pair are distraught at the prospect of being separated, but the Home Office say she has overstayed her visa and, unless she wins her appeal, they expect her to return to the US. “I was told, just find somewhere safe, and put this away. So that’s essentially what I did. I never checked the date, and life was just happening, and I didn’t have time to think about it.”
When she eventually realised it had expired, she began research immediately, applying for British nationality via naturalisation on April 23 . Because Erin had lived in the UK for over five years, she believed that she met the requirements. They estimate that the first application, including the NHS fee, cost around £2k. The second one cost about the same, plus a solicitor’s fee, bringing the total up to around £6.5k.
The letter from the Home Office read: “As you have had no valid leave in the UK since 8th February 2024, your current LTR Partner application is 6 months and 1 day Out of Time.” They argue that as Erin grew up there, and has already relocated once before, would "not face significant obstacles" if she had to do so again. But Erin argues that, when she left the US, her life "hadn't yet started".
She also believes it wouldn’t work on a practical level, saying she would struggle to even pay for the plane ticket. "My family live in the middle of nowhere and I don't have a car to take me to a job. It would take months to get Ethan over here." “Erin’s spent a lot of time crying and she keeps making quite dark jokes. It’s a real stress to try and keep positive, because it’s a really dark time for her. It’s just been really, really awful."