{"id":280290,"date":"2026-06-12T06:52:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T06:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/280290\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T06:52:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T06:52:17","slug":"home-office-refuses-uk-visa-for-zimbabwean-daughter-to-care-for-dying-tenterden-mum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/280290\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Office refuses UK visa for Zimbabwean daughter to care for dying Tenterden mum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Stepping into Chris and Joan Weir\u2019s living room, you soon see how normal life has been pushed to one side – their belongings piled into a corner to make way for a hospital bed.<\/p>\n

This is where Joan has remained since having her right leg amputated due to gangrene and then suffering a stroke last year.<\/p>\n

\"Chris\"ChrisChris Weir says he needs extra support to look after his wife, Joan, at their home in Tenterden<\/p>\n

She receives six visits from carers at home in St Benets Way, Tenterden, daily, with her husband filling in overnight and throughout the day.<\/p>\n

But 81-year-old Chris has suffered his own health issues, including a stroke last year, and is very hard of hearing, leaving him struggling to care for his wife of 25 years.<\/p>\n

Desperate for help, a visa application was lodged to bring Joan\u2019s eldest daughter, Tsitsi Chitewe, over from Zimbabwe to care for her mother in what could be her final days.<\/p>\n

But last month, the Home Office refused the application, stating there was insufficient evidence Tsitsi would return to her home country or that she had sufficient funds for the trip.<\/p>\n

Chris was heartbroken. Joan is \u201ctotally helpless\u201d without him and, despite his best efforts, looking after her round the clock has become increasingly difficult.<\/p>\n

\"Tsitsi\"TsitsiTsitsi Chitewe was devastated at the refusal of her visa by the Home Office<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had NHS carers at first, but they couldn\u2019t do it forever, so now we have six a day, plus doctors and physiotherapists coming to see Joan, but they can\u2019t be here all the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we need someone to take over, and Tsitsi was the obvious choice to come and assist because I have significant health problems as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to look after Joan myself, but it\u2019s virtually impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris only sleeps two or three hours a night as he\u2019s \u201cup and down the stairs\u201d helping his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s left me sort of half-conscious all the time, and I\u2019m still suffering from the stroke,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Joan\"JoanJoan Weir is bound to the hospital bed in the living room of their home in Tenterden<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s catastrophic what they\u2019ve done because I can\u2019t go on like this. I\u2019m going to flake out at some stage, doing all these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

He branded the Home Office\u2019s suggestion Tsitsi would not return home \u201ccrazy\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer whole life is there,\u201d Chris said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to let this happen. I\u2019ll fight and fight until I win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The situation has left him fearing what could happen to Joan if his own health takes a turn for the worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I have to go to Tesco\u2019s for food and supplies, Joan is alone. If I am at the doctor’s surgery for prescriptions or blood tests for myself, Joan is alone,\u201d Chris said.<\/p>\n

\"Joan\"JoanJoan and Tsitsi together during a visit to Zimbabwe<\/p>\n

\u201cI have cancelled hospital appointments for myself as I cannot under any circumstances leave Joan alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I try to sleep, due to my deafness, sometimes I cannot hear Joan calling me if she feels unwell.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to all her conditions, she could die at any time and does not want to be alone without me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same could happen to me. What if I don\u2019t appear in the early morning? She is totally helpless to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 77-year-old returned home in November last year after a stint in palliative care at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.<\/p>\n

Although deemed well enough to go home following the operation to amputate her right leg above the knee, it remained unknown how much longer she would have left.<\/p>\n

She has felt increasingly trapped, being bed-bound in the downstairs living room and fearful for Chris\u2019s own health.<\/p>\n

Joan told KentOnline: \u201cMy firstborn, who I\u2019m closest with, would be best to come and help me with my disabilities. I just wish I had someone to help and talk to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how to get help. There are a lot of health issues, and the more I think about it, it\u2019s killing me. I\u2019m so upset.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I have are these four walls. It\u2019s like I\u2019m trapped in a cave with no way out. I\u2019m just here in this bed, watching them. It could happen at any time.<\/p>\n

\"Joan\"JoanJoan Weir used to visit her family in Zimbabwe once a year<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Chris\u2019s own health, I wish I could help him. If I could just jump out of this bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what will happen. I can\u2019t be left alone and can\u2019t do anything. There\u2019s no one better than my own daughter to look after me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a letter seen by KentOnline, the visa was refused because the Home Office lacked evidence Tsitsi would return home and could not fund her stay of five months and 30 days.<\/p>\n

The 49-year-old was devastated by the decision, as a sponsor had been secured for her stay. She insists she would return to Zimbabwe to be with her family, including two daughters, Valiere and Natasha, who she describes as her world.<\/p>\n

The move was also supported by a letter from Ivy Court Surgery in Tenterden, which stated: \u201cJoan\u2019s husband also has significant medical issues and is now in his eighties.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be helpful for Joan\u2019s care needs and to support the family if her eldest daughter were allowed a long-term visa to travel from her home in Zimbabwe to support her.\u201d<\/p>\n

The refusal, with no chance to appeal, has left Tsitsi, who works as a community volunteer with vulnerable children and the elderly, fearing she may never be able to see her mum again.<\/p>\n

Joan used to visit Zimbabwe once a year to see her daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Tsitsi said: \u201cMy mum is a very loving, caring, God-fearing woman who loves her family. I miss her so much. We used to have so many great moments together,<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been so stressed and feeling helpless after all the effort, struggle and sleepless nights thinking of my mum\u2019s health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never imagined they could refuse the visa for only six months to be with my mum. I am devastated. I just wish I could see her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI submitted all the required information, but they didn\u2019t consider that I would return home. I love my children and grandchildren. I have no intention of staying in the UK forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Home Office, around 11,000 visa visits were issued in 2025 for Zimbabwean nationals, with each application assessed on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n

When there are close family connections, officials take them into account in the decision-making process when assessing any visa application.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson told KentOnline: \u201cIt is longstanding government policy we do not routinely comment on individual cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris says he plans to write to their MP, Conservative Katie Lam, for help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stepping into Chris and Joan Weir\u2019s living room, you soon see how normal life has been pushed to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[60],"tags":[3144,10776,141205,76118,141206,106],"class_list":["post-280290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-zimbabwe","tag-health","tag-human-interest","tag-kent","tag-syndicate","tag-tenterden","tag-zimbabwe"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116735819467210918","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}