An illegal migrant is fighting her deportation from the UK, by claiming that her Latvian husband would struggle to cope with spicy food and heat in her home country, Grenada.
Lynthia Calliste, 35, who overstayed her visitor visa after arriving in 2018, is now battling to remain in Britain with her husband Konstantin Vinakovs.
The couple from Cambridgeshire told the Daily Mail that there is "a big difference between going from the odd Grenadian dish and spending two weeks in the sun to having that sort of spicy food constantly in an environment which is hot and humid".
Calliste first arrived in March 2018 with her son on a six-month visitor visa but remained in the UK after it expired.
Calliste married her husband in 2022
She initially stayed with a friend in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, before setting up her home in Rugeley, Staffordshire, when her son - now 14 - joined her in December 2019.
In 2022, she married her husband at a registry office - after which Calliste applied for a marital visa, prompting a Home Office investigation into her immigration status.
"I do sometimes cook my husband Grenadian food here in England. But there is a big difference between liking the odd curry and having hot meals constantly in a humid country," Calliste told the Mail.
Vinakovs backed his wife, saying: "My wife does sometimes cook Grenadian food but apart from a chicken dish she does I'm not particularly keen on the cuisine.
"And, yes, I have been on holiday to hot places like Tenerife and for two weeks I can enjoy the sun and heat. But I'd struggle to live somewhere like Grenada."
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Calliste is fighting deportation by arguing that separation from her husband would breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights - the right to a family life.
She explained that she came to the UK because a former partner was "violent" towards her which led her to worry that he would target her again if she returned.
"I've been in England for the last 10 years. I've paid taxes throughout and worked hard," said Vinakovs.
He has funded all of his wife's legal bills, which he describes as "an incredibly expensive process".
The judge ruled there was "no evidence" to show the Grenadian heat would be especially challenging for her husband
Calliste added that the "stress and upheaval" of moving would be too much for her and her son who is currently studying for his GCSE exams.
A first-tier immigration tribunal rejected Calliste's case in November, with Judge Mark Blundell finding that Vinakovs regularly ate Caribbean food with "no particularly difficulty".
The judge also ruled there was "no evidence" to show the Grenadian heat would be especially challenging for her husband, citing his social media posts which showed him enjoying jet ski rides in tropical conditions.
Calliste has now appealed to the upper tier court and is permitted to remain in the UK until she has exhausted all stages of her appeal.
