Maria, a 68-year-old Dutch woman who has lived in the UK for nearly 50 years, is fighting deportation after receiving a letter from the Home Office in December. The letter said the home secretary had deemed her deportation 'conducive to the public good' and that she should be removed from the UK without delay. Maria, who lives in west London with her disabled partner, Tom, whom she cares for, said she was 'absolutely in bits' and could not believe the Home Office wanted to deport her.
Maria first came to Britain from the Netherlands in 1976, aged 17, for a holiday and never went home. She has lived quietly in the UK ever since, working in various jobs, including running a stall at Portobello market and later managing a small hotel in north-west London. She was granted EU Settled Status in January 2022, having previously had no need to apply for leave to remain while the UK was in the EU. Her only tie to the Netherlands is her passport; she last visited in 1999 after her mother's death.
The deportation threat stems from a minor offence that led to a short suspended sentence. Maria said she had been 'very naive and far too trusting' while managing the hotel, and had helped people she felt sorry for, which had led to her current predicament. She did not take a salary for long periods because the hotel rarely made a profit.
'The UK is my home,' she said. 'I have had so many nightmares since receiving the letter. How can I start my life again at the age of 68 in a country I don't know?' She added that she wanted to say to the Home Office: 'Why can't you just leave me be?'
Her case comes against a backdrop of successive governments adopting tough immigration policies, often described as the 'hostile environment'. The Labour government has recently boasted about increasing deportations and reducing migration routes, although there is no evidence these measures have won back disenchanted voters.
