A father who had a baby through surrogacy has been forced to “abandon” his wife and daughter in Belarus and relocate to Latvia to save his job after being told his daughter’s British passport could take months to process. Graeme Batsman and his wife Maura, 41, from Harrow, London, have spent the past two months in Vitebsk, Belarus, waiting to register their daughter Bella as a UK citizen and apply for her British passport so they can return home. The 37-year-old cyber security expert was forced to leave his wife and daughter or face losing his job after his employer, who he does not wish to be named, said they would not allow him to work from the Eastern European country which the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to.
Bella’s British citizenship was granted on July 17, but Graeme, who is now working remotely from Daugavpils in Latvia and has used up his annual leave, was told they could now face another three-month wait for her passport to be issued. He fears the delay could spell trouble for his wife, whose 90-day tourist visa runs out on August 19 and said having to leave his family was “very difficult”. Speaking from Latvia, Graeme said: “It was bad because Bella is only two months old and I’ve had to abandon her and my wife.
It’s not something that should happen at that age. “The apartment is on the fourth floor and my wife doesn’t want to use the pushchair because it’s too heavy for her to move up and d.