Rannveig and Dominic Parry-Davies

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A MARRIED couple hoping to live in the UK and establish a new business face an agonising five-year wait to discover if immigration officials will let them remain in the country.

Dominic and Rannveig Parry-Davies have been together for more than 25 years and have two children who both hold UK passports, as does Mr Parry-Davies. But for Ms Parry-Davies, who is from Iceland, the plans to settle in England after living abroad have run into significant barriers put up by the UK government.

These include costs rising up to £10,000 and five years before her status will be confirmed. Ms Parry-Davies, who is currently living with her mother-in-law in Hampstead, told the New Journal: “All I ask for is that I can be with my husband, that we can settle in his home country together, where he was born and bred.

“It sounds straightforward but there is no advice offered, no one to speak to. It is hugely expensive. They ask for nearly £2,000 for the first visa application.”

The couple say the process appears to be designed to stop as many with the right to live in the UK from doing so.

Mr Parry-Davies added: “They make people feel so unwelcome. I am British. We have been married for more than 20 years, with two children. “They say you need to be guaranteed a job and have £75,000 in the bank. It feels like they are saying, ‘Go away, we are not interested.’ It is Little England, pulling up the drawbridge.”

The couple met in 1995 and married in 2002. They settled in Sweden with Ms Parry-Davies working as a nurse, while her husband built up a business as a craftsman. After many years, the couple decided to return to the UK and planned to buy a bed & breakfast. As their children left home, the dream began to take a firmer shape, and last year they sold up.

Mr Parry-Davies said: “It seemed the right time, but we have been hit by Brexit rules. Had we come back before Brexit, under the Schengen Agreement, all we would need to have done is ask for the permanent leave to remain and then, if you wanted to, could apply for British citizenship after a year.”

The couple, in their 60s have been told there is no guarantee their status as family would make any difference. The idea of being made to complete a citizenship exam is another worry.

Ms Parry-Davies said: “I am fluent in English, but I have dyslexia. We saw some of the questions on UK culture. “One asked how many ski resorts Scotland has. They are completely random, yet people’s lives depend on it.”

They added that their UK experience was vastly different to Sweden, where Mr Parry-Davies had paid £30 for a passport in what he said was a simple process.

A UK government spokesperson said: “Our immigration system is tailored to work in the UK’s national interests. Fees for immigration and nationality applications are set at a level to provide the resources necessary to operate a sustainable migration and borders system.”