Ayrshire Bulls rugby star faces one-year visa delay

Frazier Climo has paid £12,000 for a holiday to New Zealand with his wife Michelle, daughter Mila and son Luke

An Ayrshire rugby player faces having to cancel a £12,000 family trip home to New Zealand due to a year-long wait for a decision on his UK visa.

Frazier Climo, a New Zealander who plays for Ayrshire Bulls, applied for a renewal in March and was told he would hear back within eight weeks.

But after buying tickets to visit New Zealand Climo said he was told the process will take at least 12 months.

The Home Office has been asked to comment.

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Climo, from Taranaki in New Zealand, has lived in the UK since 2013 and had planned to visit home on 17 December.

Joining him would be his Scottish wife Michelle as well as their two children Mila, 8, and Luke, three, who have never met their grandparents in New Zealand.

However, the delay means Climo does not have the visa he requires to return to the UK.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime: "I'm trying to explain to my daughter that she might not get to meet her nan and her grandad after all this time, which she's been looking forward to.

"To see her in tears at night it's pretty tough to see to be honest."

He added: "She's got nieces and nephews her age that she's never met before and it was going to be a real special family occasion and for it to be taken away at such short notice, you know, it's heartbreaking."

Frazier Climo says his family has been upset by the prospect of missing out on the trip to New Zealand

Climo, 35, applied for a new family visa in March after it expired in April. He said he was told by Home Office officials that he would hear back in six to eight weeks.

In the summer, the rugby player booked return tickets to New Zealand for his family, at a cost of about £12,000. He described it as a "massive" sum which he and Michelle had spent eight years saving for.

After not hearing back from the Home Office for several months, Climo asked his local MP to seek answers.

He was then told his visa application would take at least 12 months to be processed.

'Lives on hold'

The Ayrshire Bulls star, who also coaches the team, said the Home Office cited delays associated with the Covid pandemic. "That's the first we heard of it to be honest," he told Drivetime.

"I think it's disgusting. You can't expect to put people's lives on hold for 12 months just to sit around waiting for an answer.

"I've been with my wife now for 12 years now, married for six, coming up seven, two kids."

Climo added: "It should be much simpler for me to get an answer."

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The father said he was unsure whether he would be able to recoup the losses for his flights if he was unable to get his visa in time.

"To say it's going to take at least 12 months and you've just got to sit tight and wait for answer, it's just not good enough," he said.

"I think there needs to be some real clarity."