Help Sasha stay in the UK!

Aim

After 4 years in Devon, my final visa application is due in August, I need help raising funds to pay for it, or I'll have to leave the UK

The situation

In the last 4 years Totnes has become my home. But the life, work and relationships I have developed over these years are under threat as my next visa application looms and the cost of it feels unattainable right now. 

With the costs of living rising and the added pressure of some unforeseen expenses, I feel panicked that I will not be able to save the money I need. I can't imagine losing everything I've built here, and feel I have no choice but to ask for help... 

So I'm asking for £5,000 to cover the costs of applying for the visa – which will allow me to stay in the UK with the people I love!

A bit about me

I'm 32 years old and came to the UK from Perth, Australia in Feb 2019. Since being in the UK I have delved into land work. I have trained to become a hedgelayer, laying hedges in the traditional way, and have now started my own hedgelaying and rural crafts business, Hedgeways. I am passionate about sharing my love and the importance of the UK's hedgerows to others.

I lay hedges around Devon and teach others to do the same.

I am also a food grower, and have trained through local initiatives to grow organic veg to supply the local food chain. At the moment, I help run a community growing project called Grow Share Collective, where people gather come to learn how to grow organic veg and build connections with each other and the land. 

Harvesting salad at the community garden I co-run in Pondfield, Dartington.

I love sharing my passion for hedgelaying and growing healthy organic food because I believe that tending to the land is very important in this time of climate crisis and ecological decline, not only for our environment, but also for our well being.

Since moving to the UK, I have also met my partner, Amy. We've been together for 3.5 years and live in little flat in Totnes with our dog, Jumble. I am worried that if I cannot save enough money for my visa application, our little family will be separated.

My partner, Amy and our dog, Jumble.

Please help me carry on doing the things I love, in the place I love, with the people I love... Any offer, no matter how small, will help! It's really difficult to ask for help for such a personal issue, but I feel like there is no other way, I really don't want to leave this place, my home and my family.

Cost breakdown 

Home office application fee for partnership visa: ~£1,000

NHS surcharge ~£1,500

Immigration lawyer fee: ~£2,000 

Additional costs buffer - £500 (I am expecting some additional costs if the application is successful, such as acquiring a new biometric residency permit)

Total: £5,000 

If you help me do this...

...and I'm not deported this August (!), then you're all invited to the pub to celebrate!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I appreciate any support you can offer! 

Sasha

This project successfully funded on 2nd July 2023