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Nigerian couple, Cynthia and Bright Chinule, alongside their three children, are in danger of being kicked out of the United Kingdom over failure to raise money for visa renewal which is due in less than two weeks.
The couple, based in Leigh in the Greater Manchester area of the UK, run Taste Africana, a popular restaurant in the town.
Cynthia and Bright have been in England for over six years, where they have built a life but are now at the risk of being forced to return to Nigeria in 11 days if they fail to raise 26 thousand pounds.
Their financial woes began in 2023 after the roof of the first building housing their restaurant suddenly caved in just two months after opening.
The incident forced the couple to go in search of a new home and luckily, they found one just minutes away on Market Street, from where they have been operating since last November.
However, as explained by the husband, the financial burden has prevented them from staying afloat with the rising cost of living, visa fees, and immigration health surcharge payments, which is a fee paid by migrants who live in the UK for more than six months.
“They’ve put up the immigration charges, health insurance used to be around £300 per year,” Bright said Per Vanguard.
“It’s gone all the way up to around £1,800 per person, per year. Think about me who’s got a family of five. If I add visa application fees and lawyer fees it brings everything up to around £26k.
“The visa expires in 12 days (11 days today) so we need to at least put in an application the night before. At this stage, we just don’t have the money to do that.
“The target is to get enough money to get the whole visa thing fixed to give us some peace of mind. The idea that there is a possibility of being kicked out after six years of work has drained all the peace out of me. It takes a huge toll on you, honestly,” he stated.
The coming of Taste Africana
Before adopting the name Taste Africana, the restaurant was known as 'Home Fook UK,' delivering online takeaway services from Cynthia and Bright’s kitchen at their home on Glebe Street, an area the couple moved to in 2021 to raise their young family.
Cynthia was the one who suggested the idea of starting the food business. This happened during her maternity leave when she realised she wouldn't be able to go back to work as a teaching assistant and look after their children.
She launched Home Food UK which proved a big hit while her husband, who boasts two master’s degrees and a career in the NHS also leapt to support her in running Taste Africana.
Fear of deportation
But the couple's six years of hard work in the UK may go to waste and they may have to restart their lives in Nigeria if they failed to beat the deadline for the visa applications.
To forestall this potentially dreaded outcome, the couple had taken to the internet as their last resort to raise funds.
Bright created a GoFundMe to raise the £25,620, banking on his past generosity to bring him rewarding favours.
“I never thought I’d do this,” he wrote.
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“As someone who has always tried to stand on my own, it’s not easy for me to ask for help. But with only 14 days left to secure the necessary funds, I’ve come to realize that I can’t do this alone.
“Over the years, I’ve tried to give back to the community in every way possible — offering hot meals to rough sleepers during the cold winter months, supporting struggling families with food donations, and more.
“And I promise to continue paying this kindness forward,” stated on the GoFundMe.
Yahoo News quoted a Home Office spokesperson as explaining that the UK "visa fees have been informed by the principle that those who use and benefit from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating it, reducing the level of UK taxpayer funding that would otherwise be required.”