A mum has spoken out after her family was torn apart – because doesn’t earn enough money to bring her child’s father to the UK.

Jade Binmuda met her partner Thanawut Sriyaemwong while she was travelling in Thailand and say they immediately “fell in love”. He is now stranded abroad as the 35-year-old woman from Aintree, Merseyside, “doesn’t earn enough money”. The pair had spent many “happy years” living overseas and had two children, Sonny, three, and Luca, one, together.

But earlier this year, the family were separated after deciding to return to Aintree to be closer to Jade’s parents. Jade told Liverpool Echo how 31-year-old Thanawut’s visitor visa ran out after six months meaning he had to return to his home country. However, to apply for a family visa, Jade must prove she earns £29,000 to provide for the family-of-four which she says is “impossible” while bringing up their children alone.

She fears it could be years until the family is living together again and claims it’s breaking her children’s hearts. The mum said: “I went travelling when I was 19. We met in a restaurant one night. I’d already fallen in love with the country and then I fell in love with a local and stayed there. I ended up going to university and got a teaching job after. We had the best time of our lives over there.”

After 18 months together Jade gave birth to their first child and two years later Luca arrived. Jade decided it was time to move the four of them back to the UK and in July 2024 they arrived in Aintree. She said: “It had started to feel a little bit lonely over there after the kids came because my social life changed and I wanted to be close to my family again. We planned to settle here in Liverpool. We moved back in with my mum.”

According to the Home Office, a person and their partner usually need to prove that your combined income is at least £29,000 a year to be eligible to apply for a family visa – known as a “minimum income requirement”. The Government website states if someone cannot meet these financial requirements they may still be able to apply for a visa or extend their stay in the UK if:

Jade said: “Me and my partner and our two young babies are separated. We don’t know when we will be back together again. I have to make £29,000 to prove I can provide for him. But I’m a single parent caring for two young children, there’s no way I can earn that much while caring for a one and a three-year-old.

“We’re having to stay at my mum’s house because we can’t afford to move anywhere and she is helping us with childcare. It’s been so awful, stressful and tiring, since we’ve been separated. I’m exhausted, I’m working and doing everything alone. There’s no way I can make that much money as a single parent. I work full time as it is but we’re trying to survive too, we have nursery fees to cover every day and I’m relying on my mum for help, but she is getting old, we can’t live like this for many more years.

“We are literally surviving and that is it. All I want is my family back together. I feel guilty towards the children. I’m not happy, it’s not fair on them at all.” Jade added: “Our eldest child turned three last week and he has been asking for his dad every day. I can’t explain to him what is going on or if or when he will come back. It’s so hard. He keeps asking when he can see his dad.

“Whenever he sees a plane he points and says ‘daddy daddy,’ It’s heartbreaking, it’s so upsetting. He [Thanawut] wants to be here too. It’s devastating for him being away from his family. He calls us 10 times a day. We’re all struggling together. I just want their dad here with us.”

A Home Office spokeswoman 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 unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant or their family, permission can still be granted based on exceptional circumstances.”

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