A family in Co Westmeath say they are living in fear of being separated because of a three-year immigration nightmare.
Mr Pádraig Geoghegan (33), Moate, and his Zambian-born wife, Ms Kini Musalo (28), who celebrate their third wedding anniversary this Saturday, are critical of the system which they fear may keep them apart.
Despite assurances that she is entitled to a Green Card and D (residence) Visa, Ms Musalo and the couple's two-year-old son Eoin fly to Zambia next Wednesday hoping that a letter from Athlone gardaí will get her back into Ireland on September 29th. The letter will say her immigration papers are being processed.
Ms Musalo believes there is discrimination in Ireland against "African people with dark skin".
She says her life here has been an endless series of phone calls to various immigration authorities, and queuing outside the offices of immigration agencies in an effort to talk to officials.
"I don't want to live off the State, far from it. I came here to study finance and accounting in Athlone IT in 1999, and I met Pádraig in December of that year," she said.
They were told by the Department of Foreign Affairs that after the wedding she needed to go to Athlone Garda Station with the marriage certificate. "We understood it should be a straightforward exercise," she said.
After they married on September 4th, 2001, and received the marriage certificate Ms Musalo got ill and discovered she was pregnant. She went to Zambia to be close to her family. Mr Geoghegan joined her in Zambia in March 2002 and she gave birth to Eoin there in June 2002. Mr Geoghegan returned to Ireland last January, and his wife came in April.
"That's when my problems really started, because I was only given a three-week visa. Since then, despite numerous assurances from various authorities, I have not been able to get a D Visa. "
Ms Musalo says she cannot work. "It has been a nightmare because all I want to do is be here with my husband and son, and work like everyone else."
She continued: "When I came back into Ireland from Zambia with Eoin last April, I was questioned for 30 minutes while my son screamed with tiredness after travelling for 15 hours.
"I have been told I am entitled to a Green Card because I am married to an Irish man, but I just haven't been able to get it. I have my fingers crossed that I will get back into Ireland with this letter from the gardaí in Athlone."
Her husband said: "As an Irish man, I thought that would be a very straightforward exercise. But it hasn't turned out that way. We have been ringing and writing to people for months, and we seem to be getting nowhere. It's very frustrating."