Court Rules Deportation of Singaporean Woman Despite Decades Of Marriage In Britain

County Durham native and married in 1990, Irene Clennell lived in London two years before after her marriage to John Clennell. Irene Clennell, originally a Singaporean, was "forcibly removed" from the country according to The Guardian. According to Clennell's sister-in law, she is confirmed deported due to "insensitive and unfair government rules." The sister-in-law said that John Clennell was ill and the government had her deported still.

Angela Clennell said the government was unfair because the decision was made on a Sunday so "you cannot contact anyone to try and stop it from happening. She "felt sick" with the situation and contacted immigration solicitors -- whoever were open during the time.

Clennell's record was not as clean as an immigrant living in the United Kingdom is despite her twenty years in the country. Often, she left to Singapore caring for her parents before they died. This would often last for years.

The Guardian believes the government found reason to deport Clennell on the grounds of no evidence showing "long stretches of uninterrupted time living in the United Kingdom," a main tenet of the UK's spousal Visa system. The rules allow the government to conclude that those who prove to do otherwise could be affiliated with criminal syndicates -- or some criminals bypassing the law to their advantage.