“I found myself standing by the door of my daughter’s classroom. The bell rang and my heart leapt… As the door burst open, all I could hear were screams as a number of children jumped on me. I hugged them as they all shouted “well come back”. There was so much joy, happiness and laughter around my daughter and I as we finally hugged!”
This is the moment Consolata and her six-year-old daughter were reunited, after five agonising months of separation.
In December 2009, Consolata dropped her daughter off at school. She was heading to her work Christmas party in Paris, and her daughter was going to spend the evening at her dad’s house.
The party in Paris was fun. But the following morning, when she arrived at the train station to travel back to London, the immigration officer told Consolata that she had no right to re-enter the UK. With the breakdown of her marriage, she had lost her visa, and with it, her right to travel back home to her daugh…