More than eight months have passed since an Italian-born woman and her 12-year-old son were left in “limbo” by the Home Office after questions surrounding their immigration status severely altered their chance to a future in Bristol. Hielen Tekeste, 44, said, “every aspect” of their lives has been “impacted” by the Home Office “hostilities” after her pre-settled status was refused on grounds of breaking continuous residency following her returning to Italy with her son in 2017 after moving to the UK in 2014.
But now, her ordeal has become a matter of urgency as her son’s immigration status stands in the way of him receiving critical medical treatment in Italy at the end of next month. The 12-year-old, known as ‘DR’, who was born with a congenital condition, rejoined his mum in December 2021 a few months after she returned back to the UK and is awaiting a High Court decision to confirm his custody with Ms Tekeste in the UK on December 5.
Ms Tekeste submitted a joint EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) application In December 2020 but it was sadly refused in May 2021. Despite submitting an application for an administrative review of the decision, she received a letter in May this year stating that the refusal of her EUSS was still in place and her son's case had to be considered separately. Shocked by this, she launched an appeal stating that since her EUSS submission she has “experienced unnecessary burdens, delays, and administrative errors”. All of these have taken a toll on her emotionally and financially as she does not have access to public funds and has spent thousands of pounds trying to survive.
