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A British citizen has been “left stranded” in Hungary with her two children while attempting to bring her 13-year-old niece to the UK.
Natali is the girl’s legal guardian and has full parental responsibility for the child, who was previously in state care. Yesterday the Home Office refused her niece a visa to settle in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme, citing a lack of evidence.
Despite providing all of the required documentation, including translated copies of birth certificates showing evidence of a family relationship, the Home Office stated that the child would be refused settlement as “admission to the UK is not necessary to safeguard the child’s best interests.”
Natali is a settled UK resident with indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme. A UK Home Study Assessment by Hartlepool’s Children’s Services confirmed that she can provide a safe and loving home for her niece.
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She fears that her niece, who was abandoned by her parents in May 2025, will now be sent back to institutional care.
“I am stuck in Hungary, trapped between two impossible choices,” said Natali. “I must either stay here, which isn’t my children’s home, or return to the UK without my niece, abandoning her back into state care. That would be highly traumatic for her.”
She added: “I have met every requirement, submitted every document and followed instructions from both governments, in the UK and in Hungary. I am trying to remain calm but I am exhausted and running out of funds. I can’t even fuel my car. I don’t know what more I can do.”
Natali travelled to Hungary on 1 November to bring her niece to their local UKVI centre for a biometric appointment and to submit final paperwork. The child protection application was made on November 7. Following the appointment at the UKVI centre, the family were informed the process would be swift as they had paid for priority processing.
The Home Office refusal was issued without prior clarification or further request for documents. Official court and social service records had been provided, alongside birth certificates indicating that the teenager was related to Natali and that she had been in state care after being abandoned by her parents.
Alongside concerns for her niece, Natali fears that further delays will mean that her two children, who were born and raised in the UK, face attendance and safeguarding penalties by local authorities when they return to Britain.
“My children are missing school and separated from their father,” she said. “They are stuck in a foreign country where they cannot speak the language and struggle to communicate with anyone except me. It is an impossible situation.”
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Prior to the visa refusal, Natali’s local MP Jonathan Brash had attempted to urgently contact the Home Office to emphasise that this is a child protection and family reunification case supported by the UK and Hungarian authorities. The Home Office response indicated that the visa application would take longer to process as the family are outside the UK.
The department said in its refusal letter that the final decision took into account Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to respect for private and family life.
Addressing her niece, the letter states: “I am not satisfied that there are serious and compelling family or other considerations which make your exclusion undesirable.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.
“Each application for entry clearance is considered on its individual merits and in accordance with the Immigration Rules. When assessing any application, the intentions and circumstances of the applicant are of paramount importance.”