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Louise Thomas
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A young long-distance couple experiencing Brexit “heartache” have asked the public for help so they can be together despite soaring UK visa costs.
Nathaniel Bacchus, 24, from Ipplepen in Devon, and Karin Kohlmetz, a 26-year-old from Esbjerg in Denmark, met online on a Discord server in May 2022 along with a group of mutual internet friends, but soon found themselves gravitating towards each other.
After speaking online for six months, the pair started to take their relationship seriously and Nathaniel flew to Denmark to meet Karin for the first time in November 2022, which they said was “surreal”.
They have since visited each other a handful of times in the UK and Denmark respectively, but now dream of getting married and starting a family – with Karin applying for a spouse or partner visa and moving to the UK.
However the salary threshold for spouse or partner visas was raised to £29,000 earlier this year and Nathaniel does not meet those requirements after he left his job where he worked in a Co-op supermarket for seven years as he felt he could not progress further.
He has now returned to study to earn his English GCSE in attempt to gain a higher paid job in future, but as a result, the couple instead require a lump sum of £88,500 in savings in order to apply, so in an act of defiance they have launched a GoFundMe page to ask for help.
Speaking to PA Real Life, Nathaniel said of the changes to the spouse visa scheme: “It just seems to be being pushed further and further out of reach for an everyday, ordinary couple.
“When the Brexit vote was happening, I was 16 so I didn’t get the chance to have a say on something which has completely affected my future.”
Karin, who is completing a three-year visual communication degree at the University of UC SYD in Denmark, said of their situation: “It’s like having your heart in two different places because you’re just longing to connect again.
“When you go back home, you have to deal with the heartache while also being present in your own life – on the inside you’re broken up and in complete remorse, it’s almost like you’re grieving, but you have to get on with it.”
The minimum income normally required to sponsor someone for a spouse or partner visa rose from £18,600 to £29,000 from April this year, according to the UK Government website.
It was set to increase to £34,500 later in 2024 and then to £38,700 by early 2025 but PA Real Life understands these increases are being put on hold until an independent review is conducted – which is expected to take several months.
As Nathaniel does not currently have a salaried position which would meet the current income threshold, and the couple are set on living together in the UK, they need to rely on savings in order to apply for Karin’s visa.
The UK Government’s website states a couple with no relevant earnings who are looking to meet the threshold entirely through savings now need a lump sum of £88,500 to show they would be able to support themselves.
The couple said this figure is expected to decrease when Nathaniel earns an annual income which will be reflected into the total amount they need, and they said they will change the target on their fundraiser accordingly.
“I’ve asked so many people who do really well financially what they earn and they’ve been working for years and years in the same company and have not made that amount of money,” Nathaniel said.
Karin added: “We had a call with an immigration lawyer and it’s getting harder and harder because of Brexit.
“The £88,000 is just a ridiculous amount of money and I don’t know how people get through with it.”
Nathaniel and Karin first met on an online Discord server in May 2022 through a group of mutual internet friends.
The pair started to play video games together and chat online in the wider group before realising they had an extra fondness for each other.
“We just hit it off very well, we had the same interests and there was a lot of flirtation early on,” Karin said.
“We would talk with other people on the call but eventually we moved onto private calls because I think we just clicked in a different way.”
Nathaniel flew to Denmark in November 2022 to meet Karin for the first time, extending an initial three-week stay for around two months before he returned home in January.
“It was surreal, I’m not the biggest traveller but as soon as I saw Karin, all the worries and anxieties just went away,” he said.
Karin added: “It was completely different being together in person but different in the best way possible.”
Since then, the couple have visited each other a handful of times in the UK and Denmark respectively, saying it is very tough to say goodbye each time.
“It never gets easier and we know we’ll see each other again but it’s hard and it feels horrible,” Karin said.
“You’re so used to being attached to the hip with this person and then they’re just gone.”
To mitigate the 970-mile distance, they call each other every day and ensure they have their next visit booked well in advance.
“After we finish our days, we both immediately call each other – we go to bed together on the same call and we wake up together on the same call,” Nathaniel said.
“We spend as much time as we can together.”
The couple are now looking to kickstart their future plans, which involves Karin applying for a spouse or partner visa in the UK and the couple needing £88,500 in savings to meet requirements.
They have started a GoFundMe page to help with the cost, however they will need to wait for three years before making any concrete plans in order for Karin to complete her university degree.
“We have our three-year time frame but I also have a biological clock – it’s hard,” Karin said.
Nathaniel added: “We don’t have the privilege of having the conversations of trying for a kid or getting married because it seems so far out of reach for us right now.”
On their advice for other long distance couples, they said “be patient”.
“One of the things a long-distance relationship teaches you is patience and taking one day at a time,” Karin said.
“You have to be in it together and you have to be very open and transparent.”
Nathaniel said: “Don’t give up and have that level of patience, there’s going to be challenges and complexities but you’ll get there.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The minimum income requirement for family visas needs to balance a respect for family life while also maintaining the UK’s economic stability.
“To help ensure we reach the right balance, we are pausing further changes to the requirement while the Migration Advisory Committee conducts an independent review.
“In cases where refusing a visa would cause unfair or harsh outcomes for the applicant or their family, permission can still be granted based on exceptional circumstances.”
To find out more, visit their GoFundMe page.
