Couples being held in separate countries because of a visa backlog say the Home Office hasn’t told them how long the delays could be.
British citizens told BBC News they hadn’t seen their spouses for six months – double the usual turnaround time.
Some spouses were only told days before the three months were up that there would be a delay and had already quit their jobs or ended leases.
The interior ministry says the delays are due to the war in Ukraine.
“In response to the humanitarian crisis being [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine has taken longer to process applications for study, work and family visas,” an official told BBC News.
“We are working flat out to ensure these are issued as soon as possible.”
But more than 150 people have contacted BBC News to raise the issue of delays.
And according to a crowdsourced spreadsheet of the details of more than 200 couples – created by an applicant in Los Angeles and shared with BBC News – some have waited more than twice as long as expected.
Deon Barnard, 49, and Heather, 54, grew up in South Africa, have been together for 13 years and were married in a Lord of the Rings ceremony five years ago.
Before applying for the spousal visa, they were separated by only two days.
Deon’s mother was British and after he was granted British citizenship three years ago, the couple decided to move to the UK for better job opportunities and quality of life.
They submitted their application on 23 December 2021 and Deon moved to Uxbridge, west London, to start a new role.
“We calculated according to our calculations and according to our expectations [immigration] Agents, around March 28th would have been our date to receive ours [visa]’ he told BBC News.
“Heather would have been on a plane the next day.
“About March 26th we got a letter from the [Home Office] that visa applications have now been paused due to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
“And there was no information, no date, no expectations set, nothing — that was just the end of the story.
“And we’ve been waiting ever since.”
For a first fiancé or spousal visa, once the Brit is living and working in the UK, the non-British partner must apply from their home country.
Applicants in some countries can usually pay an additional £500 to £800 for priority services, giving them a decision within a few weeks.
But in March, all priority services for overseas applicants were suspended.
Once their visas have been granted, the partners have a limited amount of time to relocate to the UK.
Many, including Heather, who only spoke of the delays after notifying her employers and landlords, now face an indefinite wait on their own, without jobs or a home.
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“She lives on beds on the floor with her parents, then she’ll spend two weeks with her sister, then two weeks with her brother … in a complete state of limbo,” Deon said.
“She can’t do anything, she can’t get a job.”
“It’s an admin issue – but this admin issue just stopped life now.”
The couple have also had to sell all their assets in South Africa to pay for their application, which has cost them several thousand pounds.
“It’s an enormous amount of money, a spousal visa,” says Deon.
“If you’re wealthy and you own a business or something, then it’s a different situation – but we’re just regular workers.”
They support Ukrainians coming to the UK but say more people should be hired to cope with the extra demand rather than let the backlog grow.
Others who contacted BBC News said the process was “uniquely cruel and unbearable… we are being forced directly to be apart… with no clear end in sight”.
A young woman’s fiancé missed the birth of her first child.
Another in New York, unable to afford private maternity care in the US, terminated an early pregnancy.
An applicant who paid for the priority service earlier this year said the Home Office “will not give me any information about ETA [estimated time of arrival] or even confirm that I’m still in some kind of priority queue”.
Mariam Khaliq, head of immigration at the law firm Bishop and Sewell, was among several immigration lawyers who told BBC News the problem affected “the majority” of clients.
“Whether applicants are applying from within the UK or from outside the UK… there just seems to be delays across the Home Office,” she said.
Another couple, James and Adriana, who asked for their names to be changed out of fear of jeopardizing their application, also struggled to find the money.
They had to take out a loan to pay the fees, which has cost them more than £5,000.
“When we applied, we were told it would be 60 [working] days,” said James.
“Now we are here, almost 100 working days later.”
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The couple married in Gibraltar in November 2021.
Adriana returned to Brazil to submit her application while James waited for her at his home in Essex.
Both moved back to their parents to save money.
And like Heather, Adriana had to resign from her employer.
If they had any idea how long the delays would be, the process would be “a lot easier,” James said.
“We would be frustrated – but we could deal with it, we could plan.”
Instead, James and Adriana, who regularly suffers from anxiety, have started seeing therapists because of the stress.
“I honestly feel punished for falling in love with someone who isn’t British or European,” he said.
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