A PENSIONER barred from moving his Filipino wife into his bungalow says he’d sell his ORGANS just to get her into Britain.
Twice-divorced John Ball, 78, married “true love” Anita, 60, in September – just months after meeting on a dating app.
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But their fairytale romance became a nightmare earlier this year when the Home Office chucked out Anita’s spousal visa application.
Unsure where to turn, the granddad, from Lancashire, told The Sun: “Everything is in order but because I am retired and earn less than the minimum income, they say she can’t come over here.
“I want love and companionship. It makes me feel terrible.
“I’d do anything, even sell my organs, that’s if they were any good.”
Dad-of-two John was single for 13 years and sick of the UK dating scene when pals suggested he join Filipino Cupid.
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With nothing to lose, he paid the £10-a-month subscription and got swiping but potential flames just wanted his money.
Feeling helpless, he took a break before stumbling across widower Anita’s profile and fired off a flirty “hi”.
Their cyber love blossomed and eight months later John found himself on the island paradise of Cebu meeting Anita and her family.
He said of the January 2023 trip: “I was over there for a month. The furthest I’ve ever been is Tunisia.
“From the first time I met her, I felt like I’d known her for years. We got engaged while I was over there.”
The granddad returned to the Philippines last August and the pair got hitched in September in a £2,000 ceremony surrounded by family and friends.
In a swish wedding video, John recalls love at first sight while mum-of-one Anita says: “I promise to take care of you for the rest of my life.”
But their forever plans to move in to John’s bungalow in Hesketh Bank, near Preston, were scuppered in January when the Home Office said John was too poor to support his missus.
I was over there for a month… We got engaged
John Ball
His £9,600 pension is below the minimum £18,600 combined income needed to get a spousal visa, which would allow Anita to live in the UK.
To complicate matters further, this threshold increased to £29,000 on April 11.
John also sends £250 a month to Anita after she lost her right to a widow’s pension – her only source of income – when she got married.
Is selling your organs legal in the UK?
It is an offence to be involved in the buying or selling of human organs.
The penalty for these offences is a prison sentence of up to three years, a fine, or both.
However, NHS England reimburses people who donate organs (living donors) in order to ensure that the financial impact on the living donor is cost neutral.
The NHS says: “The principle of reimbursement is founded on the premise that there should be no financial incentive or disincentive in becoming a living donor.”
“I’m living on the breadline to pay for us”, the granddad, who spent £15,000 of savings on his two trips to the Philippines, says.
Speaking from Cebu, Anita added: “They should have told us by the time they saw my husband’s income when we submitted the requirements that it’s not enough.
“But what they did is ask us to continue the costly procedure and then denied it in the end.”
COSTING A FORTUNE
John, a retired stablehand, had already spent £1,500 on Anita’s insurance and coughed up thousands in legal fees amid the three month ordeal.
He admits he’d “love” to move to the Philippines but can’t afford the necessary healthcare following a heart bypass.
Unfortunately, John’s bid to flog his organs to raise enough cash is not legally viable and could land him in prison.
Anita, who has never been to the UK, added: “More than anything I would really love to take care of my husband.”
Read more on the Scottish Sun
The couple are now fighting for their future and hope the government will reconsider the case.
The Home Office said they are unable to comment on individual visa applications.
THE PRICE OF LOVE
People who want to sponsor a foreign spouse or partner for a visa must usually show available maintenance funds equivalent to an income of at least £18,600 per year.
The Government raised this to £29,000 on April 11.
It will increase again to around £34,000 at an unspecified time later in 2024, and is planned to reach £38,700 in early 2025.
But this will depend on the outcome of the General Election.
Source: Commons Library
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