AN OAKLEY man is struggling to get a visa for his daughter-in-law so that she can meet her extended family for the first time.

Keith Palmer, of Oakley, has been appealing to the highest powers, and even asked his MP for help. Mr Palmer’s son, Philip, has been married to Samjhana Lamichhane for two and a half years and the couple have a daughter together.

Philip, 44, and 18-month-old Phoenix have British passports but Samjhana, 24, needs a visa to visit from Nepal, where the trio (pictured) live.

Keith said: “I’ve tried the Home Office multiple times, got in contact with my MP and even tried to speak with the Home Secretary Amber Rudd. People are just point blank refusing me or ignoring me. It’s incredibly frustrating.”

His MP Kit Malthouse has been investigating and told The Gazette: “I am working on their case, but we don’t comment on specific aspects of constituency casework.”

Philip, who runs the charity Education & Health Nepal (EHN), and Samjhana have a daughter, Phoenix Palmer, who was born in 2015, after the earthquake. Philip said: “I spent a lot of time after the quake handing out supplies to families whose lives were a pile of rubble and dust. To me, she rose from the rubble, so to speak, so Phoenix seemed like the best name.”

The family require a one month visitor’s visa, so they can meet the rest of the Palmer family in the UK. The refusal paperwork says there is a lack of evidence of ‘sufficient ties’ that Samjhana will return to Nepal at the end of the month period.

But the charity, of which she is the treasurer, is currently in the process of building a school in the Gorkha district, which was hit by the quake. It is due for completion in February, which they would need to be back for.

Mr Palmer added: “Even if it was only for two weeks, we’d be happy. We’ve tried appealing, but now we’ve got to the stage where I can only complain to the Home Office.”

The Home Office has yet to respond to The Gazette’s questions.