KARACHI: A Norwegian woman, who was refused visa to return to London after travelling to Pakistan to adopt a baby, has been allowed to return home, according to The Guardian.

Nina Saleh, a Norwegian passport holder, has full UK residency rights after living in London for 20 years. She was refused the visa to return home with baby Sofia three times, despite going through a stringent and lengthy adoption process in the UK with British authorities’ involvement, the publication said.

Ms Saleh had lived in the UK for 20 years, but was refused a visa with her child thrice. Within 48 hours of various British publications carrying her story, Ms Saleh received news that the Home Office was overturning its decision and allowing her back home.

Speaking from Karachi, where she has spent four months waiting for her case to be resolved, Ms Saleh told The Guardian she had almost lost hope of ever getting home.

“The media pressure was instrumental in getting this overturned... Since February they [the Home Office] have stopped me from getting on with my life and I am left feeling still traumatised and highly vulnerable,” she said.

The report stated that Ms Saleh was initially rejected a visa on the basis that adoption was not allowed from Pakistan to the UK as there was no intra-country adoption agreement.

However, couples or individuals coming from the UK use an established route of getting legal guardianship of the baby and then travelling back to Britain, where the authorities formalise the adoption process.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2019

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