Father's plea over visa row girl

Jinsol lived and went to school in Winnersh before the visa refusal

A father from Berkshire says his teenage adopted daughter cannot join him in the UK from South Korea because of a legal wrangle over visas.

Herndong Choi and his family live in Winnersh, near Wokingham, but were told his daughter cannot join them as the adoption was customary and not formal.

Jinsol, 15, is being cared for by her grandmother in the town of Incheon, 30 miles (48.3km) west of Seoul.

The Home Office said it did not recognise customary adoption in Korea.

'Really sad'

Jinsol once lived and went to school in Winnersh. Her biological father has a brain tumour and is severely disabled so as her uncle, Mr Choi adopted her and brought her to the UK.

In July, she had to return to South Korea to apply for another visa but was refused.

Jinsol speaks to her family in the UK via a webcam

She keeps in touch with her father using a webcam. Speaking from South Korea she said: "I'm really really sad that I can't see my friends, I can't see my family, I can't do anything."

Mr Choi said: "Now we are completely lost. At the moment, she can't go to school there and she can't go to school here.

"So basically we are desperate.

"As part of a family, we want to live together, " he added.

Mr Choi showed the BBC a document from South Korea - called a Certificate of Family Relationship - which had been stamped by a local district office in South Korea, stating that Jinsol was his daughter.

In Jinsol's refusal of entry document, the Home Office said it did not recognise customary adoption in South Korea and so legally did not consider Jinsol to be Mr Choi's daughter.

Advertisement

Mr Choi says the family is completely lost