Veteran Ioane Koroiveibau was granted permission to lawfully re-enter and settle in the UK following a landmark decision by the Home Office in December 2022.
After sustaining noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) during his service, Koroiveibau was medically discharged from the Armed Forces. He returned to his home country Fiji. Koroiveibau was then diagnosed with combat related PTSD, but specialist treatment wasn’t available in Fiji.
Veteran Koroiveibau sought Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) the UK, where he could access the treatment he needs for the injuries sustained while serving here. He was supported by Commonwealth Neglected Veterans, a charity run by Esita Tuimanu and Elaine Laga. He’s the first of six test cases brought by the charity.
Esita worked as the British Army Liaison Officer in Fiji. She then joined her now ex-husband, a soldier serving the with the Devon and Dorset Regiment, where she started a welfare support role.
When the regiment moved to Catterick in 2003, Esita became the Army Welfare Services and Infantry Training Battalion’s first Foreign and Commonwealth Liaison Officer. In that role, she campaigned against rising visa fees and led on improving the understanding of different cultures and traditions of commonwealth soldiers entering the British Army.
In 2019, Estia and Elaine founded Commonwealth Neglected Veterans because they saw an ongoing need for help. The charity supports Commonwealth veterans, champions their rights, and gives them a voice.
Working with specialist immigration lawyers, Commonwealth Neglected Veterans supported eight Fijian veterans who were classed as living illegally in the UK. They’d failed to regularise their stay following discharge from the Armed Forces. After receiving support, their applications for residency were granted. The tribunal accepted that there’d been significant failures in the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) administrative procedures during the discharge process. The MoD had also failed to cancel the immigration exemption that was in place during their service.
Immigration rules in the UK mean a soldier’s entitled to Indefinite Leave to Remain (IRL) in the UK, if they’ve served for more than four years or were medically discharged. But the right is only automatic for the first two years after leaving the Armed Forces.
Esita worked tirelessly to support Koroiveibau throughout his application for a permanent right to enter and remain the UK – enlisting the help of high level contacts including Dan Jarvis, a labour MP and former Parachute Regiment soldier.
Following campaigning and political pressure, the UK Boarder Agency (UKBA) accepted that applications could be made outside of the two-year period. They also accepted each case would be decided on its merits.
Commonwealth Neglected Veterans and Esita brought six test cases to the UKBA. Veteran Koroiveibau was the first case to be determined, so there’s hope the other five will also be granted an ILE the UK.
This landmark decision could pave the way for other neglected commonwealth veterans to enter and live in the UK, with an associated right to work and access NHS care.
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