Immigration Solicitors

A British businessman whose family is trapped in a war zone in Ukraine has called on the British government to resolve a misunderstanding which led to his wife and children being denied a visa to enter the UK to join him.

Multi-millionaire Richard Spinks was born in Kent and is the chief executive of Active Energy Group. He has been trying to obtain British passports for his two sons Filip aged 10 and Maksym aged six for the last six months. However, officials in Warsaw have claimed he is not British.

Mr Spinks’ Ukrainian-born wife Tanya is an international art dealer who has had homes in London. However, a clerical error at her firm meant that when she applied for a visa, it was not stated on the application that she had previously been refused a visa.

In 2010, a visa application was rejected because there was not sufficient evidence that Mrs Spinks and her children would be supported financially if they came to the UK to live. The re-application was then rejected because the information about a previous visa application being rejected was not included on the form.

Mrs Spinks has been banned from entering the UK for 10 years and the children have been banned from applying for visas to enter the UK until they are 18.

Mr Spinks has worked for the British Armed Forces and flew with the RAF.

He says that his family’s home in the Ukraine has been overrun with Russian rebels and his family has had to flee to the west of the country. The family home was shelled and soldiers from the Donetsk People’s Republic entered the property. He is “desperate” to bring his family to Britain to flee the war, he told the Evening Standard newspaper.

However, he has not been able to meet with anyone to discuss the case – and says his calls to the embassy have not been returned. He has called the British government’s treatment of his family “disgusting”.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said:

“Anyone applying fro a British passport needs to be a British national.

“The onus is on the parent to provide the necessary evidence that their child is a British national before a passport can be issued.”

The Home Office said a visa application by Mrs Spinks had been refused because she had failed to disclose she was previously refused a visa – and had not provided information about her employment or income with the applications.

Mr Spinks said that he had supplied information about his British nationality – including details of his genealogy – but the application to bring his family to the UK had still been unsuccessful because embassy officials in Warsaw insisted he was “not British”.

Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors can advise migrants from EU member states and those from non-EU countries on a wide range of UK immigration matters – including British citizenship and asylum applications and appeals.

Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors are also able to advise on illegal entry to the UK and the Fast-track Detention process.

For expert legal advice on immigration and asylum in the UK, call Duncan Lewis immigration solicitors on 020 7923 4020.

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