Esi’s Story- Reuniting a mother with her daughter

Esi’s journey is a powerful example of how lives can be rebuilt with the right help at the right time.

Written by: Bhumika and Maria-Lorena

After years of separation, and uncertainty, Esi’s resilience and determination, combined with expert, compassionate legal support from RMC, led to a joyful reunion with her daughter. RMC assisted Esi through her journey from a grieving widow facing an insecure immigration future to a British citizen working to provide for her family and being reunited with her firstborn.

A family torn apart

In 2017, Esi, a Ghanaian national, and her husband, an Italian citizen, moved to Italy due to the economic crisis in their home country. They made the heart-breaking decision to leave their 5-year-old daughter in the care of an aunt, with plans to bring her over once they were financially stable.

However, things did not go as planned in Italy, and the couple later relocated to the UK. Constantly worried about their daughter back home, they tried to rebuild their lives. Soon, another situation devastated the family- Esi’s husband was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. At the time, Esi was pregnant with their second child and had to juggle making ends meet while also taking care of her husband. He, sadly passed away in 2019.

Immigration barriers

Esi’s right to remain in the UK was dependent on her husband’s EU status. After his passing Esi was concerned she would be unable to continue living in the UK, where they had begun to build a new life. With help from one of RMCs Casework Team Managers, Bhumika, Esi was able to regularise her immigration status. Esi was then able to eventually, apply for and obtain British citizenship in 2024. RMC supported her through every stage of the process.

Rebuilding

Once she had found stable employment and accommodation, Esi’s focus turned to reuniting with her daughter. She returned to RMC in November 2024 to seek advice and representation. The case was allocated to our Walsall-based caseworker Maria-Lorena. Maria carefully listened to all of Esi’s needs and explained the possibility of applying for Entry Clearance for the child under Part 8 of the immigration rules. Maria guided Esi through the process, ensuring that she understood the requirements, challenges and risks involved.

One significant challenge was that the daughter’s birth certificate had been issued after her father’s passing, which meant Esi would need to prove the child’s biological link to her deceased husband. After a lot of preparation gathering of evidence, an application was finally submitted in January 2025.

Tears of joy

Exactly two months later, in March 2025, the Home Office informed the caseworker that the application was successful- Esi’s daughter was coming to the UK to live with her mother and younger sister.

In May 2025, Esi visited the RMC office with her daughter. With tears of joy, she said she would “forever be thankful to RMC for making this happen”. Her daughter is now settling into life in the UK and will begin school in September. Esi can now look ahead with hope, with both of her daughters by her side.

“From our initial advice session and up to submitting the application, I felt overwhelmed and emotional by the tremendous desire that this mother had to have her daughter by her side in the UK. I knew that as her caseworker I had to do everything in my power to build a solid case and I took it as a personal mission to reunite this child with her mother. The preparation was intense and both I and the client felt anxious and excited at the point of clicking “submit” and sending the application to Home Office. Exactly two months later Home Office accepted the application. I was able to deliver the news face-to-face and she immediately started crying loudly and could not believe it. We hugged and I knew that this would be a case that I would never forget. Her daughter is now living in the UK with her mother and sister. Without speaking a word of English, she smiled at me and her mother assured me that they are grateful beyond words.”

Maria-Lorena, caseworker, about dealing with this case