THE UK Government’s “hostile environment” for migrants was in evidence again yesterday when a Scottish taxi driver told how he and his American wife had been caught up in “heartbreaking” red tape.

Keith Webster, from Portlethen, near Aberdeen, married Susan Martinez, from Arizona, in a ceremony in the US last April, after meeting in an online forum two years before.

However, they initially applied for the wrong type of visa for her to remain in Scotland and their application for a settlement visa has now been refused, leaving them in limbo.

Their case is remarkably similar to that of an Edinburgh plasterer who has been separated from his wife, who is in the US, since before Christmas after her visa was refused.

We have previously reported their case in some detail on several occasions, but an immigration judge in Glasgow has imposed an anonymity order following the failure of their last appeal. We are appealing against the gagging order.

However, the spouse told The National from the US: “This situation is so stressful and it’s like the Home Office have taken away my sense of self and have beaten me down to feeling like nothing.

“The Home Office shouldn’t be able to decide people’s lives nor should they have the power to mentally abuse people who only want a life with their partner.”

Webster, 49, has been a taxi driver for more than 20 years and easily meets the minimum income requirement to keep his wife in Scotland.

He estimates they have spent around £7000 trying to resolve the issue after the Home Office questioned the status of their relationship.

In a refusal letter, a civil servant said: “There is a lack of evidence of personal contact and regular correspondence between you.

“Therefore, I am not satisfied that you have formed a genuine and durable relationship; your relationship … is genuine and subsisting; or that you intend to live together permanently in the UK.”

Webster said: “It is heart-breaking.

“The last time Susan was home she was in tears every day. It was making us both ill.

“We just don’t know what will happen now.

“Susan came back to the UK three days before Christmas which means she’ll have to leave sometime in June for a month.

“I don’t know what we are going to do.”

His wife told The National: “The endless hours of prep to make sure we had everything required was our main goal. We actually thought that if we made it easy for your government this process would go smoothly – instead our most compelling and solid evidence was overlooked.

“I waited seven long and very unsettling months for the final refusal so I could use my passport and was able to get back to my husband three days before Christmas.”

“Keith and I just want to live the simple lifestyle we have imagined for our selves.”

She added: “We have spent thousands of dollars and thousands of hours on immigration only to be turned down because of lack of evidence or validity of our relationship which was indeed over looked.

“We were not even called to notify us regarding our case or anything that may need to be addressed as the UK online application site states would happen.”

A Home Office spokesperson repeated their usual mantra: “All applications are considered on their individual merits, on the basis of the evidence provided and in line with the immigration rules.”