Refugee misses chance to apply to bring family to the UK by 13 minutes after visa route closes

Umer Heyi is trying to build a life in the UK but just missed the cut-off to apply for his wife and son to join him - (Umer Heyi/Supplied)

When Umer Heyi received news from the Home Office that he had been granted sanctuary in Britain, he was ecstatic.

Caseworkers had agreed that the 28-year-old had a “well-founded fear of persecution” and could not return to his home country of Ethiopia, where he said he had been imprisoned over his support for an opposition party, the Oromo Liberation Front.