British couples traveling to Pakistan to adopt children were baffled after the Home Office told them to expect months of delays in visa processing due to the refugee crisis in Ukraine.
The delays are part of wider visa failures that have left families around the world waiting to return to the UK.
Zainib * has been in Karachi’s largest city in Pakistan since November. She told the Guardian that the delays had left her feeling abandoned.
“It’s 37 degrees here, there’s a shortage of gas and water, and the power goes out for a few hours a day,” she said. “I am afraid to go out because of the risk of kidnapping and the political instability here.
“I have been here since November. It took us three weeks to get the baby, after which we applied for her visa on January 18. Initially, the Ministry of Interior told us that it would be 12 weeks – that was 21 weeks ago.
“My older son misses kindergarten, my husband is working in the UK, my father is ill and I can’t be with him, and my employer wants to know when I will be back,” Zainib added.
“I can’t describe in words how difficult this is. I am so stuck and the Ministry of the Interior is not responsible. I can talk to a tree. We have made at least five complaints, and other families in a similar situation have done a lot. “
On May 11, 16 weeks after she applied, Zainib and several other families received a letter from the Interior Ministry saying the waiting time would be doubled for family visas.
An adoptive mother and her new baby in Karachi. She said they had been approved for adoption by the UK Ministry of Education. Photo: Khaula Jamil / Guardian
It read: “Due to the humanitarian crisis caused by the invasion of Ukraine, UKVI [UK Visas & Immigration] gives priority to visa applications for Ukraine. That’s why we decided to temporarily change our standard for marriage and family service to 24 weeks from … 12 weeks.
Direct adoption from Pakistan to the United Kingdom is not allowed as there is no bilateral adoption agreement. Instead, British couples or individuals use a well-established route to provide legal custody of the baby and then travel back to the UK, where authorities formalize the adoption.
Families go through a lengthy vetting process with the UK Department of Education before traveling to adopt, but it is the Home Office that provides return visas.
Two years ago, the Home Office was criticized after Nina Saleh, an EU citizen and UK resident, was blocked in Pakistan after being denied a visa three times. She eventually received her visa after media reports about her case.
Satunder Sandhu, chief executive of the International Adoption Agency, Adoption Center, said: “We have many families waiting months more than before, and we understand that the war in Ukraine has put a lot of pressure on the already fragile system.
“For adoptive parents who are legally approved and have children, visa applications should be quite trouble-free. All children in need of adoption have experienced trauma, separation and loss, and they must be able to travel to their new homes in England without delay.
Maya * is also trying to get home with her adopted child. She has been in Pakistan for nine months and her newly adopted baby is eight months old. She has a skin condition that is stress related and getting worse.
She said she could not understand why there had been such long delays after she was approved by the British authorities. “We went through a very thorough and intrusive process in the United Kingdom, where the Ministry of Education approved us for international adoption.
“My husband had almost no opportunity to spend time with his new child because he had to return to the UK to work.”
Zainib said there was a lack of understanding among lawmakers about international adoption. “An MP told one of us that we have to justify why we can’t just leave the baby here. But we were approved for adoption by the Ministry of Education. The orphanages here are horrible. I would not allow an animal to live in such and justifying this is not part of the process.
“Our babies have gone through the trauma of breaking up with their original parent, and we need to get out of this situation.”
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said: “We give priority to applications for a family scheme of Ukraine and homes for Ukraine in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine, so the processing of applications for study, work and family visas took longer time.
“UKVI is working to reduce the current processing time as quickly as possible.”
* Names have been changed to protect the identity of adopted children
Add Comment