If you are dreading the thought of spending the next few months housebound with your family, spare a thought for the Cokanasigas.
Ilaitia Cokanasiga, a former British army sergeant who served this country for nearly 14 years, is stranded on the other side of the world from his wife and two sons after being told that if he returned to the country that he once fought to protect he would be considered an illegal immigrant.
Commonwealth veterans who have served more than four years are eligible for indefinite leave to remain. However, this is not an automatic process and ex-soldiers have to apply as soon as they leave the army – or else they are in breach of UK law. This was not communicated to Ilaitia and potentially hundreds of further Fijian veterans and as a result many have lost their jobs (after employment agencies told them they did not have the right to work in the UK) and been forced to return to Fiji – separating them from their families.
It costs £2,389 to apply for leave to remain in the UK – a sum many are unable to afford – and as a result hundreds of ex-soldiers, who risked their lives to protect the country, have been told that they are no longer welcome to live here.
Ilaitia, who toured in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has already missed his son Joe’s World Cup debut over border control fears and is now unable to support his wife who is awaiting an operation on a brain tumour. He travelled to Fiji in December to attend his daughter’s wedding and is unable to return.
If a man who has fought for the country and has had two sons who have represented England at rugby is not considered worthy of living in the UK, then who is?
Toby Saiban, Wilson's School
