Home Office refuses visa to Thailand-based family hoping to introduce baby to great-grandfather at Christmas
The UK Home Office has rejected a visitor visa for a Myanmar refugee, so her five-month-old British son William Cross, who lives in Thailand, cannot visit his great-grandfather in Lancashire. The family is preparing a new application because there is no right of appeal.
The UK Home Office, the department responsible for immigration, has refused a visitor visa to Khin Thant Zin, known as Jue Jue, a refugee from Myanmar. The decision prevents the family from travelling to England for Christmas so that their five-month-old son, William Cross, a British citizen living in Thailand, can meet his great-grandfather.
A family on a Thai island
William was born in Thailand on 30 April. His parents are Matthew Cross, 31, a mechanical engineer from Burnley, Lancashire, and Zin, also 31, who fled persecution in Myanmar. The family lives on Koh Tao, an island known for its diving schools and a turtle conservation centre. Cross opened a steakhouse restaurant there 15 months ago, where Zin manages social media and human resources. The couple are engaged.
Cross's parents have already visited Thailand and met their grandson. His grandfather, George Kerr, 74, of Clayton-le-Moors in Lancashire, has several health problems and cannot fly. A large family gathering was therefore planned in Burnley.
Reasons for the refusal
Officials said they were not satisfied that Zin was a "genuine visitor". They said there was no evidence she would return to Thailand, as she had not shown significant family ties there or sufficient evidence of income. Cross said Zin has never had a bank account, and that her brother and sister both live on Koh Tao.
The application was costly and complicated. The family had to provide guarantor letters and photographs from relatives, and travel to Phuket for biometric screening, a journey of two nights and three days by ferry and bus that cost £400.
There is no right of appeal, so the couple are preparing a fresh application, although the refusal letter warns that future applications are likely to be refused unless circumstances change. They must also buy return flights and repeat the biometrics trip. Cross estimates the total cost will reach £3,000. A Home Office spokesperson declined to comment on individual cases and said all applications are considered on their merits.
