42-year-old DJ, Adrian O’Grady, who has been told he is suffering from stage four colon cancer had to fly home to Glasgow from Bali without his fiancée and daughter
Adrian and his family enjoying what could be their ‘last Christmas’ together (Image: DAILY RECORD)
A terminally ill dad is facing another visa struggle after almost not being able to spend Christmas with his fiancée and four-year-old daughter.
After finding out he was suffering from stage four colon cancer he wants to get married to his fiancée, 39-year-old Yanti, as soon as possible.
However, the couple are struggling to tie the knot as it is not permitted for her to go from a visitor visa, which she used to see Adrian at Christmas to a marriage visa, which is needed if you want to get married in the UK.
The couple cannot get married in Bali as they need to be the same religion to get married in Bali or Indonesia to which Adrian says: “Religion shouldn’t matter or have anything to do with getting married.”
Adrian told the Daily Record how he initially feared having to spend what could be his last Christmas apart from his loved ones as his four-year-old daughter, Chloe’s, fast-track visa application remained “stuck in limbo” several weeks on.
Adrian got to spend Christmas with his family.(Image: Tony Nicoletti/Daily Record)
But not long after, the toddlers tourist visa was rubber stamped by the Home Office and they enjoyed a “perfect” Christmas together surrounded by loved ones.
Adrian said: “We want to get married here and have a proper wedding here, but it doesn’t seem possible.
“Considering everything that’s happened, it’s important to have my friends and family around us on such a special occasion. But we would need to change Yanti’s visa from a visitor visa to a marriage one, which isn’t allowed.
“In Bali or Indonesia you must be the same religion to marry. Religion shouldn’t matter or have anything to do with getting married.
“I also want to get Chloe a UK passport to give her the best possible opportunities in life. It’s important to us that she has the right to study or work here when she’s older. But after the way we’ve been treated with her visa, we don’t know when we will be able to make this happen.
“If we can’t get married here, we’ll have to go back to Bali and I don’t think we’ll ever be back.”
Adrian, who is originally from Bearsden, DJs all over the world as AJ O’Grady and splits his time between Bali and the UK.
The family planned to travel to Scotland to spend the festive period with his family in Bridge of Weir on November 20 but their plans were thrown into crisis when Chloe’s visitor visa application wasn’t signed off along with mum Yanti’s which forced Adrian to travel home alone.
The fast-track visa applications were made before Adrian’s shock diagnosis but earlier this month, he received the devastating news that he had colon cancer which had already spread to his lung and is now terminal.
A consultant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital sent a heartfelt letter to the Home Office to help reunite Adrian with his loved ones, writing that his “prognosis is poor” and asking that “every effort” should be made for his daughter to be with him.
At the time, Adrian, who had been forced to abandon his family’s rescheduled flights five times due to the visa delay, made a heartfelt plea for help, saying: “I just want my daughter here and for the Home Office to approve her visa so she can spend her last Christmas with me.”
The dad spent around £10,000 trying to get his family to Scotland in time for Christmas before they finally got their wish with his fiancée and daughter jetting in a week before.
Adrian said his best chance at extending his life is to remain in Scotland for immediate treatment despite his wish to keep up work commitments in Bali and Australia and he is embarking on surgery and assessing treatment options.
He said: “Your health first is priority number one. Without your health you have nothing. It’s more important to prolong my life for my family.”
The Home Office said it can not comment on individual cases.
As this has not been established in Yanti’s application, there are no provisions to change the visa route once in the UK.
It’s understood you cannot switch to another visa category from within the UK when you arrive under a visitor visa and applications should be made from your home country.