Darius, an associate professor at a Russell Group university in England, and his Indian wife, Sunaina, arrived in the UK before Brexit and settled – giving them and their immediate family the right to reside in the country. But the couple decided to have their baby, Anouk, in India in July to allow Sunaina’s parents to support her as it was her first child. After waiting 12 weeks for the baby to be licensed, they were faced with the difficult choice of returning to London to continue work and leaving Anouk with her grandmother. Sunaina and Darius knew the baby was in safe and loving hands but said it was a traumatic experience no new mother should have to face because of Brexit. “Being separated from your four-month-old baby was difficult. I don’t think I can even put into words what it was like. I felt very worried, wondering if he will forget me and how difficult it will be to bond when he gets back with me,” said Sunaina, who is now back in London. Knowing they had to take family leave to return to the UK under the rules of the EU settlement system, the couple applied for a passport for Anouk from the German embassy once they received her birth certificate and applied for the baby’s leave . on the 4th of August. “We figured there’s not a lot of background checks they can do on a newborn, so within a few months at the latest we’ll be fine,” Darius said. It had taken just two weeks to get the child’s birth certificate from the German consulate in Calcutta, with a passport a few days later. They then took Anouk to the VFS visa application offices for the biometrics required by the Home Office and submitted their application for family leave under the EU settlement system. Hopes were briefly raised by Visa and Immigration in London in mid-September after it responded to an inquiry by telling the couple their application was “in the process of being decided and it won’t take much longer”. But they were quickly dismissed when the couple made a new inquiry in October without hearing back and were told the case was being prepared but not yet before a decision-maker. “They don’t give schedules on the website, so you just have uncertainty about when to book flights, when we could bring the baby home,” Darius said. “We were very confused because it contradicted what we had been told before and we started to think we couldn’t rely on it,” he added. Darius returned to London alone in September to resume work while Sunaina was under pressure to return after maternity leave to meet a postdoctoral contract deadline. “They were all bad choices. It was not easy at all,” he said. The couple then made the “incredibly tough” decision for Sunaina to return home and leave Anouk with the child’s grandmother and extended family in India. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. I was in two minds till the time I boarded the flight as to whether I wanted to go back or should I stay with the baby,” said Sunaina. Returning to London for just a week in early November, he decided he would just get on a plane and come back if Anouk didn’t settle. The German embassy confirmed to the couple this week that a visa for Anouk had now been approved and would be issued in the coming days. A Home Office spokesman said he could not discuss individual cases, but added: “Family permits are available for consideration in the order of date of receipt. Cases are closed as quickly as possible, but wait times may vary depending on the volumes received and the complexity of the cases.” Sunaina said she was relieved to learn the visa was now on the way, but wanted to speak out to make sure other EU citizens or their spouses with UK abode rights after Brexit do not have to go through the stressful experience . “The system needs to be improved. I understand that the Home Office is under pressure and dealing with a lot of immigration-related issues, but just knowing some sort of timetable for when you could bring your baby home would be an important step in the right direction,” she said. Sunaina.
