Mum avoids deportation to the Caribbean after claiming her husband doesn't like the food and the weather is too hot

11 February 2025, 12:48 | Updated: 11 February 2025, 13:01

A woman had her deportation delayed after arguing her husband did not like Caribbean food and would find it too hot, reports claim.

Lynthia Calliste was due to be deported to Grenada after she and her son overstayed their six-month visitor visa.

The Home Office began efforts to deport her after she applied for a marital visa following her wedding to permanent resident Konstantins Vinakovs, the Times Reports.

However, Calliste argued deporting her would separate her from her husband, violating Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights - the right to a family life.

The Home Office disputed this, saying Vinakovs had every right to join her in Grenada.

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Calliste said he “would be unable to tolerate the cuisine in Grenada” and “worries about the heat” due to it being much warmer than the UK and his native Latvia.

Judge Mark Blundell dismissed her appeal in November but she has remained in the UK, exhausting all stages of appeal.

At the hearing, it was found her husband often ate Calliste’s Caribbean cooking and had “no particular difficulty with any style of food, and there is certainly no suggestion that he has a food allergy or intolerance”.

It was also found there was “no evidence before me to show that the temperatures in Grenada would be particularly difficult for [him]”.

Judge Blundell added: “He stated that he would not like the heat but his evidence really went no further than that; there is certainly no suggestion that he would be unable to live and work in the temperatures which are enjoyed by those who holiday on the island. I do not consider this to be a point of any great significance.”

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The Home Office is reportedly in the process of preparing her deportation.

It comes after an Albanian criminal had his deportation halted partly because his son had a distaste for foreign chicken nuggets.

Klevis Disha, 39, entered the UK illegally as an unaccompanied minor. He later gave a fake name and falsely claimed to be born in the former Yugoslavia.

Disha, who could still be forced to leave the UK, was stripped of his citizenship in 2021 after serving two years in prison when he was caught with £300,000 known to be proceeds of crime.

Following his conviction it was found he had acquired his citizenship “through deception”.

But an immigration tribunal ruled it would be "unduly harsh" for his 10-year-old son, known as 'C' in court documents, to return to Albania with his father owing to food sensitivities, sensory issues and difficulties communicating emotions.

Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Border Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle revealed the Home Secretary had appealed the decision.

She told Nick: "The Home Secretary actually appealed that as soon as soon as it became clear that is the decision that's been made, that is not a final decision yet. The court processes aren't over yet. When we appeal things they often get overturned."

But, the minister did say she was 'astonished' at the decision.

She said: "My opinion - since I'm not a judge - (is) I'm fairly astonished but what we have to do is say we're serious about this, we've deported a lot of people regardless of whether they like chicken nuggets or not."