English test anger for another couple

THE Littlehampton husband of a former Ukrainian woman has slammed new government regulations requiring her to pass English language or culture tests.

Tanya Edwards had hoped she would be given indefinite permission to remain in the UK after her temporary permit ran out this month.

But she and her husband Richard, of Kingfisher Drive, were shocked to discover that the conditions for her staying here had been changed substantially, and now included passing a "Life in the UK" test on British culture, or having an official English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualification.

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Their situation is similar to that of Jirawan Jeffery, of Gladstone Terrace, Wick, which was featured on the Gazette's front page two weeks ago (see separate story).

However, while Mrs Jeffery, a mother-of-two, and originally from Thailand, has been told she must leave the country immediately, Mrs Edwards can still apply for a temporary permit.

Mr Edwards, Arun District Council's tourism manager, is, nevertheless, furious that the couple was not told by any government department until she made her application for indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

"You would think that the least they could do was to give notice of these changes. It's not good enough for the Home Office to say 'details have been available on our website since January'. Even if we had known about it then, there would not have been sufficient time for Tanya to gain these qualifications.

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"When we did find out, she only had five weeks to study for and take the test, which, understandably, she failed. She has been attending English classes, but her course was not aimed at achieving an ESOL certificate, which is based on 19 weeks' study."

Mr Edwards, 55, and his 36-year-old wife got to know each other over the internet and after he made several visits to the Ukraine, Mrs Edwards moved here in 2004 and they were married two years ago.

They have now asked for her to be allowed to stay for two years to give her time to gain the qualifications, and have asked for the 395 application fee to be refunded, as they will still need to pay a further 750 for her indefinite leave application once she has passed the test.