Petition Jirapon & Phil Doidge

A MARRIED couple who have fought a lengthy immigration battle are set to be torn apart on Valentine’s Day. They have lived together in Plymouth since they met and married in Thailand in 2008. They face a race against time to convince the Government they should not be separated. Jirapon has worked full-time since arriving in the UK, but when she applied to extend her spousal visa in 2013 she was told she had taken the wrong type of language test.
“They told my wife to prepare to go home.”
Jirapon had taken the NOCN test, which the Home Office said was not a recognised qualification.The couple launched a series of appeals in immigration tribunal courts, spending thousands of pounds on solicitors’ fees and legal advice, and Jirapon took the ‘correct’ City and Guilds test in October last year.But the authorities have refused to change their original decision, telling Jirapon she must leave the UK by Friday – the day before Valentine’s Day.