Wellesbourne man who has been told he must go back to The Gambia where he was born and leave his family despite living and working in England since 2007 thanks Warwickshire residents for "amazing support"

Sid with his wife Becky and their children Tyler, nine, and two-year-old Amie

Sidat (Sid) Touray, who has two children with his wife Becky, has been told by The Home Office that due to issues with his latest visa application he must return to The Gambia where he was born.

But Becky set up a crowdfunding page on the JustGiving website to raise money for the immigration health surcharge of £1,000 which, due to loss of income because of Coronavirus affecting Sid's employment, the couple were struggling to pay on top of the £2,400 they had already spent during the application process.More than £2,600 has now been donated to the cause and Sid will use the money to cover the surcharge and the legal fees the family are paying as part of the process.

Sid said: "My family and I appreciate what people have done for us.

"People have have called to offer me a job.

"I would like to thank everyone who donated or commented to give us a courage and to show us that we are not alone in this.

"It feels like everyone in Warwickshire is with me.

"I can’t stop thinking about how amazing it is to have this kind of support."

Up until April last year Sid had applied for limited leave to remain in England every 30 months.

But his most recent application - which was this time for him to be allowed to stay in the UK indefinitely - was declined due to complicated issues over him being able to prove he had not left the country for a period of time longer than 180 days since he has been living here.

This application, the process for which Sid says was delayed due to Coronavirus, cost him about £2,400.

Sid, who before the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns was able to work both as a forklift driver at a warehouse and as a home care worker, is now faced with a loss of income while Becky only works for 18 hours a week as a nursery carer while looking after her children the rest of the time.

The family, like many others in these times, have been struggling to make ends meet and Sid was not able to pay an immigration health surcharge of £1,000 he had been asked to to successfully apply for limited leave to remain again.

He has now received a letter from the Home Office stating that, due to the lack of payment, this application is invalid.

The letter says: "You must make arrangements to leave the country when able to do so or submit an appropriate application for leave to remain and pay the relevant fee.

"Persons who require, but do not have or no longer have, leave to enter or remain are liable to removal from the United Kingdom under section 10 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (as amended by the Immigration Act 2014)."

The letter tells Sid how "his life will become increasingly more difficult" if he decides to stay and lists the consequences of staying in the UK for Sid which can include a fine of up to £5,000 or imprisonment for up to six months.

Other issues are that he will not be able to work and that his UK driving licence, which he needs to be able to drive to work, would be invalid.

Sid moved from The Gambia to the UK in 2007 and met Becky in 2010 when he was living and working in Birmingham.

They moved to Harbury in 2014 and then lived in Sydenham before moving to Wellesbourne in 2018.

Sid said that during this time he has always worked full time to provide for his family and does not claim benefits.