Without my wife I'm absolutely helpless - but she's being told to move 5,000 miles away

An 88-year-old who has been battling declining health for several years fears he will be unable to cope alone once his wife is forced to return to her native Brazil. Brian Edwards and his wife Neiva, 79, used to travel between each other's home countries, but due to his deteriorating health, Brian is no longer able to make the journey.

Currently, Neiva is visiting Brian but under UK immigration law, she can only stay without a visa for up to six months, which will expire in March. The couple are now seeking a spousal visa that would allow Neiva to remain in the UK to care for Brian.

However, to qualify for this visa under current UK legislation, they must have a minimum income of £29,000 or savings of at least £88,500, or a combination of both. These funds must be held in cash in a personal bank or savings account in the name of the applicant or their partner, or jointly by the couple.

READ MORE: Keir Starmer: 'Greater Manchester is a trailblazer - this will take it to the next level'

Both Brian and Neiva receive a pension, but neither meet the financial requirements set out by the law.

Brian, who was previously unaware of other routes available to him, discovered that according to the government website, an application could be reconsidered if refusal would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant or their partner. He admitted he "wasn't aware" of this exception and said he "will look into it", reports the Liverpool Echo.

However, Brian stressed his situation is urgent due to his declining health, stating he needs his wife "more than ever". Living alone with no remaining family following the death of his son and daughter, he told the ECHO: "I've been ill for the last few years and now I've been diagnosed with a leaking valve in my heart. I need my wife here now all the time to help me. I just can't cope on my own now. I can just about get up the stairs. She does everything. Without my wife I'm absolutely helpless."

Brian, who uses a walking frame to get around and can no longer walk to the local shop to pick up his newspaper, explained: "If I do too much walking, my heart doesn't get the blood to the areas and I start to go dizzy, as if I'm about to faint.

"When I'm walking, I'm starving my brain of oxygen, and next thing I know I have to stop walking and sit down because my head's spinning and I've got double vision."

Brian met his wife Neiva, who lives in an apartment in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on a cruise across the Atlantic in 2013.

After tying the knot at Wallasey Town Hall in 2014, the couple were content to visit each other for a few months before returning to their separate homes.

"It suited us," Brian explained. "At our age we're quite happy to spend six months with each other. She can come here for a few months, I can go there for a few months. But now I just can't travel. I haven't even been on the new trains and the station is only at the bottom of the road. I can't even get on the train, let alone fly.

"Neiva's stuck between the devil and the sea. She wants to be able to go back and see her family, but she's prepared to stay with me indefinitely because she knows I need her help which I've never needed before.

"It's destroying, frankly. Even in the event I was able to look after myself, it's not right that she couldn't come here anymore. It doesn't make sense just because I haven't got enough money in the bank. I mean you're coming between a married couple."

Neiva has a deadline of March 2 to return to Brazil, unless their application for a spousal visa gets another look.

Brian added: "I'm too ill to travel, and she's not allowed to come here, so that means in March, she goes and I don't see her again, which is ridiculous."

Brian's alternative is to seek Attendance Allowance, designed to offer financial assistance for those with serious disabilities or health conditions that require personal care.

He said: "It would cost the government money not to let her in. I'd end up having to get all the help I can get, regarding home help and what have you. People doing my shopping, making my dinners. I don't want strangers coming into my house and treating me like a child. I just don't want that.

"I have no doubt I'll qualify for it, but the point is that it will cost the government money. So everyone loses in the end."

The Home Office informed the ECHO that it does not comment on individual cases.