Migrant clampdown forces British teacher and family to move 4,000 miles away

16 December 2023 , 21:34

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L-R Tallie Waiswa, Josh, Adam, George, James, Emilie Larter

A migration clampdown is forcing a British teacher to move 4,000 miles to Uganda with her adopted son.

Emilie Larter and Adam, nine, are among an estimated 60,000 families hit by visa law changes. The 31-year-old met Adam in Uganda on a 2014 gap year caring for orphans. She returned in 2016 to pursue adoption plans and met partner Josh Waiswa, 35, a hospital security guard who is foster dad to George, nine, Tallie, seven, and James, five.

Aiming to adopt and co-parent all of the kids here, Emilie brought Adam back in 2021 to speed up the visa process, leaving Josh – likely to earn £28,000 a year here – and the other kids behind. But on December 4, the minimum income requirement for a spouse or family visa was raised from £18,600 to £38,700. With rises for child dependents pending, lawyers tell Emilie she may need to earn £70,000 to unite her family here.

Emilie, of Leigh Sinton, Worcs, flies to Uganda with Adam this week and said: “It breaks my heart knowing we might never be able to afford to come back.” The Home Office said: “Anyone bringing dependants to the UK must be able to financially support them.”

Heather Main