Scarborough woman stranded after South African visa policy changes
December 02 2009 by Liam Clifford
South African visa rules change mean woman may have to wait for eight weeks until beimg let back into the UK
A Scarborough woman who has been living in the UK since 1971,
when she moved here from South Africa, found herself stranded in the African
country after changes to the South African visa laws for those entering the
UK.
Heather Sharp was born in South Africa and carries a South African
passport. She travels to South Africa each year to visit family, but this time
she has not been able to leave the country to return to the UK.
The
problem has arisen since the UK changed the visa rules for South Africans
visiting the UK. The law now requires South Africans to carry a visa to enter
the UK.
Sharp says she has experienced repeated problems re-entering the
UK over the past 20 years after her annual visits to South Africa. With this in
mind, Sharp and her husband consulted the UK immigration department and their
travel agent before they set off, but insist they were not told about the rule
changes.
Heather now needs to wait for her UK visa to return home, which
could take as long as eight weeks. The South African visa rules changed for
entry into the UK in March this year.
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