LONDON, United Kingdom – A butcher shop owner who fled persecution in Zimbabwe now faces being deported from the UK because of ‘ludicrous’ Home Office rule changes.
Cheryl Robins, 61, has become a pillar of the Abbotsbury’s community since moving to Britain from South Africa in 2022 to live with her husband Mike, who is a UK citizen.
The couple invested £65,000 of their savings into running a popular butchers and farm shop in the Dorset village.
But their idyllic life in the country has been thrown into turmoil after the Home Office refused to renew Mrs Robins’ visa for her to remain in the country.
The mother and grandmother now has until February 24 to submit an appeal and avoid being separated from her husband and adult son.
If Mrs Robins is not successful, she will be sent back to South Africa, a return she described as a ‘death sentence’ due to the country’s reputation for consistently having one of the highest murder and rape rates in the world.
The business owner had originally arrived to the UK on a 30-month spousal visa, but had her renewal application rejected because she did not meet new financial thresholds brought in last April.
As part of the Government’s five-point plan to curb migration, then home secretary James Cleverley raised the minimum income normally required for British citizens to sponsor a spouse visa from £18,600 to £29,000.
In her bid to avoid deportation, she has asked her friends and family to record their own experiences of violence in the country to highlight why it would not be safe to return.
‘We invested all of our savings in the business and did a renovation on the shop. It is showing a profit and pays all our bills,’ Ms Robins said.
‘But they refused my visa because it’s our own business – I’m not being paid a salary.
‘In the application they ask you ‘could you go and live in South Africa?’ and technically I could so I said yes. But I don’t have anywhere to go. We invested in our lives here, I have got nothing to go back to.
‘I would have to go back and live on the streets, it would be my death sentence for sure.
‘They are insisting I can return to South Africa, they have clearly not read my cover note which gave details of why it would be detrimental to my well being.’
Mrs Robins was originally born in Rhodesia, an unrecognized state in Southern Africa in the 1960s which became modern day Zimbabwe in 1980.
But the couple left in 2003 as it spiraled into chaos under former President Robert Mugabe.
The couple relocated to South Africa in 2003, but the situation there was not much better.
They faced high crime rates, the collapse of their engineering business and struggled to find new jobs as they were aged over 50.
Four of South Africa’s cities – Nelson Mandela Bay, Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg – are known to be some of the most dangerous in the world.
The UK Government’s own website states that South Africa has a high crime rate including violent muggings, carjacking, rape and murder.
‘The crime in South Africa is horrendous. You don’t stop if you see someone being victimised because that could make you a target. I could tell you story after story,’ Mrs Robins said.
‘You can’t have a gun to protect yourself because if someone breaks in and finds a gun they will shoot you with your own weapon.’
The couple decided to move to the UK as Mr Robins, now 65, is a British citizen.
He travelled first in 2019 but had to reach and maintain a financial threshold before his wife was allowed to join him.
Once he achieved this working for Transport for London, Ms Robins moved over and worked in administration and sales before they invested in the butchers in April 2023.
Mrs Robins said: ‘We were separated for three years, I was sitting in this big house in South Africa on my own at night just watching the gate.’
Despite speaking perfect English, Mrs Robins has been forced to complete three English tests, which she has had to pay for, along with expensive biometrics and finger printing.
She estimates so far the immigration process has cost them about £10,000 and described the whole process as ‘absolutely ludicrous’.
‘They have not acknowledged that we have a business,’ Ms Robins said. ‘They are not acknowledging that we have been married for 24 years.
‘They’ve said that should I be deported, my husband is welcome to stay here. Where’s the family values?
‘The whole thing is absolutely ludicrous. I am so emotionally and mentally drained from dealing with this. It’s been so traumatic, I’ve had panic attacks and nightmares.
‘I’m having to ask friends and family to dredge up memories they don’t want to. It’s not fair that I have to do all this.
‘We have had to put the business on the market and apply for jobs. It breaks my heart because we have worked so hard but we just don’t have a choice.
‘We’ve invested about £65,000 on new equipment and the refurbishment, our own savings, it’s absolutely crazy, we don’t understand why the money has to be in the bank.
‘I consider myself an upstanding citizen and we are totally self sufficient. We do not claim anything from the state. We don’t want or need help, we just mind our own business.
‘The support I have received from the community is phenomenal, everyone has been amazing.’
Mrs Robins local MP, Edward Morello, is also backing her and has written to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper urging her to intervene.
Mr Morello, the Liberal Democrat MP for West Dorset, said: ‘Cheryl and her husband run an important local business in Abbotsbury and are much valued members the village community.
‘Cheryl has poured all her savings and energy into building a successful business and it is ludicrous that the Home Office rules do not recognise that.
‘I have written again to the Home Secretary raising Cheryl’s case and urging her to intervene to reverse the decision. I remain hopeful that we can convince the Home Office to see sense.’
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We are in touch with this applicant to ensure they are supported while their application is considered.’ – Mailonline
