New bride is deported

Immigration law changes forced Shinta McMurray home to Indonesia

The Indonesian bride of a man from Cambridge has been deported from Britain within a month of their marriage.

Darrell McMurray, 31, married his Indonesian girlfriend, Shinta, at the Shire Hall register office in Cambridge on 17 April.

But at the end of last month, 25-year-old Shinta was given four days to pack her bags and fly back to Indonesia at a cost of £400.

She has no guarantee she can return to her new husband.

She had come to England last year on a tourist visa and the pair consulted the Home Office website and independent organisations.

The couple thought Shinta would only be required to submit a change of status application.

But changes brought about by the Immigration and Asylum Law 2002 and phased in gradually meant she had to go back to Indonesia.

Met at University

The couple met on the campus of the Indonesian university where Mr McMurray was studying and were engaged in April 2001.

Mr McMurray said: "I thought it was my right to marry whoever I fell in love with and have her live with me."

He said that the fact that Shinta had work offers and a place to live and speaks good English should have eased her passage into England.

I though it was my right to marry whoever I fell in love with

Darrell McMurray

"I managed to speak to her on the phone at the weekend.

"She is a very upbeat person who doesn't seem to let things get on top of her, so she was in good spirits."

Mr McMurray is a graduate in South East Asian studies from Hull University and is applying to the Foreign Office for its fast-track entry scheme.

"It's ironic this involves the career I'm interested in," he said.

A Home Office spokesman confirmed changes had occurred in the immigration application system, but said he could not comment on specific cases.