‘We can’t go back’: mother of six-year-old cancer survivor fears UK visa changes | Immigration and asylum

The mother of a six-year-old cancer survivor has spoken of her “overwhelming” fear her daughter will be denied crucial treatment because of the government’s immigration crackdown.

The girl, from London, underwent two rounds of life-saving chemotherapy after being diagnosed at two with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that mostly affects children.

She had a tumour removed on the day of her fourth birthday and is receiving ongoing specialist care at Great Ormond Street hospital in the capital.

The girl’s mother, who did not want to be named, said she feared her daughter’s healthcare would be stripped away as a result of the immigration changes due to come into force next month.

She told the Guardian: “I live in fear that one day our visa application will be rejected and the police will come and force us to go back to Togo. Here my daughter has the healthcare she needs. She can’t survive in Togo. We can’t go back.”

The girl’s mother moved to Britain from Togo in west Africa with her husband for work in 2017, when he had a diplomatic posting and she worked as a cleaner.

The family were due to qualify for indefinite leave to remain next year, a decade after they arrived, meaning they would no longer have to spend thousands of pounds renewing their visa every two and a half years.

However, immigration changes due to come into force in April mean the family now faces another 10-year wait before being granted the status – and that any future visa applications could be rejected under the stricter rules.

Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is doubling the length of time required before many people can gain settlement rights from five years to 10 years as part of hardline immigration reforms. The changes will also make it more difficult for people who have relied on welfare support to gain indefinite leave to remain, with longer waiting periods.

Praxis, the charity supporting the woman’s family, said they government’s plans were “punishing families like hers who need support during medical crises”.

The woman, who has two children, had to give up her work as a cleaner to care for her seriously unwell daughter when her husband died two years ago. She now relies on disability welfare support – a lifeline she fears could be stripped away at her next visa application.

She said the “stress and uncertainty” of the changes were causing her mental health problems: “It is exhausting and unfair. I wake up every morning feeling angry and anxious. More and more stress is being added on families like mine,” she said.

Addressing government ministers, she added: “I came to you because I am helpless and you helped me. Then you change your mind and punished me.”

She said her daughter, who turns seven in October, had been “in life and death” limbo after two rounds chemotherapy. The treatment has left her with problems with her vision and hearing.

The woman said she had been trying to find work and had job interviews in November, including on the days she had to take her daughter to hospital. But she said her daughter’s health struggles meant it was difficult to hold down work: “Who would give you a job when you have to juggle all of this?”

She added: “My child’s illness can’t be controlled, couldn’t be helped, but the government creates stress for no reason. Despite all my problems, I see my daughter and I am happy. I couldn’t have dreamed she would be OK.”

Ministers are facing opposition from Labour MPs over the plans, which have been seen as an attempt to combat the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Olivia Blake, the Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam, said on Tuesday the changes would “lock hundreds of thousands of working people into decades of insecurity” and that the reforms were “against British values of fairness”.

Praxis said hundreds of campaigners from nursing unions and charities are due to stage a “mass lobby” of MPs in the Commons on Wednesday.

The Home Office declined to comment on the family’s case but said it was taking action to address “the challenges caused by unprecedented levels of migration under the previous government”.

A spokesperson added: “Without action, some 350,000 low-skilled workers and their dependants will qualify for settlement, gaining access to benefits, free healthcare, and social housing, costing taxpayers £10bn.

“It is a privilege not a right to settle in the UK and it must be earned, rewarding contribution and those who play by the rules.”