Soldier's daughter in Kenya denied visa to live in UK

Denis Omondi's daughter Ann

The teenage daughter of a British Army soldier has been unable to get a UK visa allowing her to leave Kenya to live with her father.

L/Cpl Denis Omondi, who is stationed at Fort George, near Ardersier, wants to bring 14-year-old Ann to Scotland.

Drew Hendry, SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, raised his case at Westminster.

Prime Minister Theresa May said Home Secretary Sajid Javid would look into the circumstances.

Mr Hendry said the soldier, who is not in a relationship with his daughter's mother, had uncontested custody of Ann.

Denis Omondi with his wife Shelagh on their wedding day

L/Cpl Omondi is a British citizen who is originally from Kenya and has done tours of Afghanistan, Iraq and Cyprus during his eight years with the Black Watch.

He has visited Ann in Kenya every year since 2012, when he first became aware that she was his child.

Ann also attended her father's wedding to his wife Shelagh in Kenya.

L/Cpl Omondi applied for an entry clearance application for a child in early November last year and it was rejected by the Home Office in the same month.

He appealed and he and his wife, who is recovering from breast cancer and unable to work, now face the prospect of having to reapply and pay additional legal fees.

The soldier is based at Fort George in the Highlands

During Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Hendry said: "Despite visiting her as often as he can she is being denied a visa because the Home Office claims he hasn't spent enough time with her."

Mrs May thanked Mr Omondi for his commitment to the British Army.

She said she would ask the home secretary to look into the soldier's case and respond to Mr Hendry's question on the denial of a visa.