A British mum has been left to raise her child largely alone as her husband’s visa continues to get rejected – forcing the family to live in separate countries.
Rachel Mackay is fighting to be reunited with husband Kieyaamudien, who she fell in love with while on holiday in Turkey two years ago.
Despite the distance, the pair knew they wanted a future together, and tied the knot after a surprise pregnancy.
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But things haven’t been easy, with 34-year-old Kieyaamudien being refused three visitor visa applications, as well as one fiancé visa refusal prior to their marriage.
Nail tech and mum-of-three Rachel, 29, doesn’t currently meet the UK spouse visa financial requirement, which calls for a minimum income of £29,000 per year, and Kieyaamudien’s finances were also found to be ‘insufficient’.
It means that their daughter Emersyn, now eight months old, is raised largely through FaceTime calls and the odd trip to visit her dad, who has had to miss all of her major milestones.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Rachel, from Manchester but currently living in Wigan, told Need To Know.
“He’s missed so many firsts – her first laugh, first foods, first crawl and instead has had to watch them through videos and FaceTime.
“No parent should have to experience their child’s early years through a phone screen.
“Every milestone is bittersweet because although I’m incredibly proud, there’s always a part of me wishing her dad was here to experience it too.”
Their love story started much like any other – a holiday romance, with Rachel visiting Turkey with her family in August 2024.
Kieyaamudien, originally from Cape Town, South Africa, was working as a singer in the hotel, and the two struck up conversation after one of his shows, and exchanged numbers.
Rachel said: “We stayed in touch after I came home and our relationship grew from there.
“Despite the distance, we knew we wanted a future together.
“We didn’t plan to have a baby so soon, we’d always imagined getting married first.
“But life doesn’t always go to plan, and when we found out I was pregnant, we were both shocked but incredibly happy.
“From that moment on, our focus was on building our family together.”
But the pair could never have foreseen the constant battle it would take.
Rachel has two children from a previous relationship, and so needs to live in the UK – but their repeated applications to secure Kieyaamudien a visa have been unsuccessful.
She explained: “One of the visitor visa applications was so my husband could be in the UK for the birth of our daughter, but unfortunately, it was refused because the Home Office wasn’t satisfied that he would return to his home country at the end of his visit.
“As a result, he wasn’t able to be there when our daughter was born and instead had to watch her come into the world over FaceTime, which was heartbreaking for us both.
“The other two visitor visa applications were refused for the same reason, with the Home Office stating they weren’t satisfied that he would leave the UK before his visa expired.
“The fiancé visa application was refused solely because I didn’t meet the minimum financial requirement needed to sponsor his application.”
Jam Press has reviewed the application rejection letters, which cite Kieyaamudien’s financial circumstances as a key factor in the refusal to allow him entry into the UK, alongside concerns that he does not have “an incentive” to return to his home country.
The couple wed in March 2026, choosing to have their nuptials in South Africa, but it hasn’t changed their situation, and he has never been to the UK, even for a holiday, due to the failed visa applications.
The couple have been left out of pocket trying to raise the necessary fees.
Rachel said: “Every application costs thousands of pounds once you factor in visa fees, legal advice, travel and supporting documents.
“We’ve spent so much already – well over £7,000 – and we simply can’t keep paying thousands of pounds with no guarantee of success.
“To lose that amount of money after the application was refused was absolutely devastating, especially knowing we had done everything we possibly could.
“Even though we’re married and have a British daughter, we still don’t meet the criteria needed for him to be granted a spouse visa.
“It feels incredibly unfair that a family can be kept apart despite doing everything the proper way.
“Instead, we’ve been forced to live in separate countries while trying to raise our daughter together from hundreds of miles apart.
“My husband has missed so many important moments in her first year because he simply isn’t allowed to be here.”
Kieyaamudien has since moved to Spain for seasonal work to be closer to Emersyn and Rachel, who save up to visit as often as they can.
So far, they have been able to visit him four times, but visits are on hold as they can’t afford another one while trying to save for another visa application.
Rachel said: “We do everything we can to see each other.
“That means I travel to Spain with our daughter whenever we can afford to, and we speak every day on FaceTime so he can still be involved in her life.
“The travel is incredibly expensive on top of everything we’ve already spent on visa applications. “Flights, accommodation and taking time away all add up – but we don’t have another choice if we want them to have a relationship.
“We wouldn’t change a thing or wish our daughter wasn’t here – we just never imagined we’d be raising her across two countries because of the immigration challenges we’ve faced.
“Our biggest hope is simply to live together as a normal family.
“We want our daughter to grow up with both of her parents present every day instead of having to say goodbye after every visit.
“Our aim is simply to live together as a family in the UK.
“We don’t want anything special, we just want our daughter to grow up with both of her parents under the same roof.”
Rachel has been sharing their story on TikTok, where posts have garnered 1.4 million views.
She added: “I’d love our story to help raise awareness of how many other families are going through the same thing, because since sharing our journey on TikTok, I’ve heard from so many people facing similar situations.
“The response has been overwhelming.
“Thousands of people have shared their own experiences of being separated from their partners or children because of immigration rules.
“We know we’re not the only family living like this, and we hope sharing our story helps people understand the emotional and financial impact these rules have on ordinary families who simply want to be together.”
For now, the family are saving up for another spouse visa application, with the support of a specialist immigration solicitor.
Rachel said: “We’re hoping that our circumstances, including our right to family life and the fact we have a British daughter together, will be properly taken into account.
“I’m working as much as I possibly can, but as a self-employed nail technician who is also solo parenting three children, it’s incredibly difficult to work enough hours to reach the income threshold.
“I’m doing everything I can, but it’s not something I can achieve overnight.
“I don’t feel that we should have to leave the UK.
“This is my home country – I was born here, I’ve worked since I was 16 and I’ve paid taxes here for years.
“I believe I should be able to live here with my husband and raise our family together.
“Relocating also isn’t a realistic option.
“I have two older children who have a relationship with their father here in the UK, and I would never take them away from him.
“Their lives, school, family and support network are all here.
“This is our home, and all we want is the opportunity to live together as an ordinary family.”
Jam Press contacted the Home Office, who stated they do not routinely comment on individual cases, and that all visa applications are carefully considered on their individual merits, in line with the Immigration Rules and based on the information and evidence provided by the applicant.
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