Cuban woman given UK visa to visit boyfriend who had already died

14 February 2025, 07:05

A Cuban woman was reportedly given a visa to join her partner in the UK, despite the fact he had died a year earlier.

Ilian Velazquez travelled to the UK in March 2019 to join John Hewer on a two-and-a-half-year partner visa but he had died a year earlier in November 2018.

While in the UK, she then applied for indefinite leave to remain twice, arguing she was a bereaved partner, The Times reports.

Both applications were refused but she remained in the UK during the appeal process.

Living in the UK Velazquez then met her new partner Galan Zambo, a dual South African and Hungarian national.

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She then used this to apply for a new visa to remain but this was rejected on the grounds she was in the UK illegally.

The next attempt saw the pair argue deporting Velazquez would breach article 8 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protects family life.

This was also rejected by a judge.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, told The Times delays in deportations such as this are “ludicrous.”

He said: “It is completely ludicrous this visa was ever granted in the first place given her spouse was sadly deceased at the time.”

He added: “Clearly her visa should be removed based on the fact it was fraudulently claimed. The fact that this lady has made endless appeals over a six year period shows how broken the system is.

“We need to radically reform the system so these cases are dedicated quickly and decided once and people with no right to be here are rapidly removed. Endless claims and appeals make a mockery of the system.”