Leonarda Zarcone, 74, was born in Italy and is a French citizen. She moved with her husband to the UK in 1981, where they settled in Leicester and opened a fish and chip restaurant. The family grew well, and they had three children (and four grandchildren).
After the UK left the EU in 2020, Zarcone applied for and was granted settled status with his family, but the Home Office asked him for more information before finally approving his application.
But unfortunately, the email sent by the government ended up in her spam folder, so Leonarda Zarcone never saw it.
But in November 2023, he received a letter asking him to leave the country.
“When I opened the letter, I got the biggest shock of my life. My whole family and roots are here. I moved to this country with my husband 42 years ago.
This is where we raised our three children and where we ran our business together. I paid my taxes and lived an honest life.
My family have lived here all their lives, and my youngest daughter was born in the UK. “We support Leicester City Football Club very much, it is our home.”
The whole problem became clear to him when he returned from a family wedding in France last September. He was only allowed into the airport through border control with a 28-day visitor stamp, which has since expired.
“Now I’m an illegal immigrant, and it’s all because of an email that ended up in spam. I don’t even know computers. I cry when I think that I’m going to get kicked out of this country and my family because of this.”
A Home Office spokesperson initially said that all applications submitted are carefully considered, and decisions are made based on the attached evidence and in accordance with immigration rules. However, after the BBC contacted the office, the office moved, and Leonarda Zarcone was told on Friday that she would be given the desired status.
