A wife has been left battling what she calls unfair UK visa rules while becoming a new mum on her own, as her partner's visa applications have been repeatedly refused.
Rachel Mackay, from Manchester, is fighting to reunite with her husband Kieyaamudien as the family of three remain separated across different countries.
The 29-year-old met her partner while on holiday in Turkey two years ago. The couple decided to marry after an unexpected pregnancy.
Repeated visa refusals
UK visa rules have blocked 34-year-old Kieyaamudien from coming to the UK to be with his wife and daughter, Emersyn, now eight months old. He has been refused three visitor visa applications, plus one fiancé visa application before the pair wed, Manchester Evening News reports.
Nail technician and mother-of-three Rachel currently falls short of the UK spouse visa financial threshold, which requires a minimum annual income of £29,000, while Kieyaamudien's financial situation was also deemed 'insufficient'.
Their daughter is being brought up primarily via FaceTime conversations and occasional visits to see her father, who has been absent for all her significant developmental moments.
"It's heartbreaking," Rachel said. "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."
Couple met on holiday
Rachel was visiting Turkey with her family in August 2024 when she met Kieyaamudien, originally from Cape Town, South Africa, who was working as a singer in the hotel. They exchanged numbers after one of his shows.
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."
The couple wed in March 2026 in South Africa, but their situation has not changed, and he has never been to the UK, even for a holiday, due to the failed visa applications.
'It feels incredibly unfair'
The application rejection letters cite Kieyaamudien's financial circumstances as a key factor in the refusal, alongside concerns that he does not have "an incentive" to return to his home country.
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."
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 while they 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."
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."
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."
The Home Office 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.
