'Please help me bring my wife home': Heartbroken Daventry man's plea to be reunited with partner after Home Office refusal

A mountaineer from Daventry faces his biggest hurdle yet after being torn apart from his wife due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Maciej Derkacz, 35, travelled to Nepal with the intention of climbing Mount Everest.

But his path took a very different turn.

He met and fell in love with Aishwarya Singh Nepali and the devoted couple later got married.

Maciej said: "In 2017 I went to Nepal to find an 8,000 plus metres high mountain to climb; but I met Aishwarya and all my plans then changed.

"Shishapangma, Cho Oyu, Manaslu, Nuptse and Everest went to second priority."

Arrangements were being made to apply for Aishwarya, 25, to get a long-term visa in the UK - culminating in a 5,000-page submission containing evidence that the two are a solid couple who speak every day.

But then the pandemic struck - creating a huge backlog in applications and Aishwarya was left stranded in Nepal, having lost her job because Covid had shattered the economy.

Time apart was heartbreaking for the couple, but neither lost hope and Maciej even moved into a rented house, ready to welcome his wife to the UK.

When the Home Office eventually processed the application there was a shock result - Aishwarya was denied a visa.

Maciej's friend and colleague, Justyna Smiech-Sporek, has now launched a £4,000 fundraiser to enable him to appeal against the Home Office decision not to grant his wife a permanent visa.

"They are a lovely couple who have been separated by coronavirus since September 2019," said Justyna, who lives in Rugby.

"They had collected all the necessary documents and, in September 2021, when visa applications resumed (as Covid-19 stopped all processes) they applied for Aishwarya. Unfortunately they were refused."

She has launched a GoFundMe appeal to support her friends' plight.

Justyna added: "Can you imagine being separated from your loved ones for over two years by thousands of miles?

"I know I would not be able to cope with the sadness and stress this has caused them. That’s why we are reaching out for the kindness of strangers to reunite Maciej and Aishwarya."

For more information or to donate to the appeal, visit the GoFundMe page.