A RETIRED Worcester woman who married a Turkish waiter is distraught the Home Office will not allow him into the country.

Kathleen Ekiz, aged 62, married Hakan, 38, in December 2006 but the Home Office has refused him entry into the UK despite several visa applications.

Mrs Ekiz, of Sedge Close, St John’s, has returned to Turkey many times to see her husband, but despite a number of appeals to the Home Office – including an immigration tribunal in January 2008 – she has had no success.

She said: “We even told the judge – who said he believed this was an honest marriage – we had a job lined up for Hakan if he did come and live here.

“They think he is just going to sponge off the state but he is not. He wants to work and he wants to come to this country to be a proper husband. But they won’t even allow him to come and visit me,” she said.

Mr Ekiz was previously married to an English woman, and when the marriage ended in divorce, his visa ran-out.

He did not return to Turkey in time and chose to continue working in the UK.

He eventually chose to leave Britain and re-applied for a visa from Turkey once he married Kathleen.

Mrs Ekiz is the sole carer for her 22-year-old profoundly autistic daughter Amy Morris, which has made it difficult for her to go and visit him as she needs round-the-clock care.

The former teaching assistant, who is on anti-depressants due to the trauma, has vowed to fight on.

She said: “I am a proud woman but this has just got too much. I have no support for Amy. I just want my husband with me so we can enjoy life and live together. That’s not too much to ask.”

Their lover affair started when Mrs Ekiz went on a family holiday in Turkey.

“I wasn’t looking for love, it just happened. It was one of the best fortnights of my life and I know that he loved me back,” she said.

They dated for two years before marrying.

Worcester MP Mike Foster said the Home Office was wary to allow Mr Ekiz to enter the country because he previously oustayed his visa.

He said: “With his previous history it does become very difficult as an MP to make a case for this couple.”

A UK Border Agency spokesman said they did not comment on individual cases but were determined to protect the UK’s immigration system and marriage laws from abuse.

He said: “To qualify to come to the UK on the basis of marriage to a British citizen, a person must demonstrate that the marriage is subsisting and that they intend to live permanently with their spouse.

“The applicant also needs to show that they will be able to maintain and accommodate themselves and any dependents in the UK without relying on public funds.

“Where a person has been refused a visa on the basis of marriage to a British citizen, there is a full right of appeal against the decision to an independent court,” he added.