THOUSANDS of miles are separating Steve Bearns from his wife after she was refused a visa to remain in the UK.

Mr Bearns, 56, met Xia Zu in Shenzhen, China, in 2006 and they married there in 2010.

The couple decided to settle in Britain and moved to Wallingford after their son Ryan, three, was born in the UK in 2013.

But problems with Xia's visa application have now left her stranded in China.

Mr Bearns said: "It's an absolute nightmare – Ryan is spending half the year with his mum and half the year with me – I'm sure it is having an effect on him.

"We talk on Skype but it is awful to be separated like this and it doesn't look like we will be together as a family at Christmas."

Mr Bearns, an operations manager for a technology firm, said his wife, who is 35, was initially granted a family visit visa, which allowed her to stay in the UK for 180 days of any 12-month period.

He added that last year he and his wife agreed to apply for a spouse visa as part of the process of being allowed to stay permanently in the UK.

Mr Bearns said the application was refused by the immigration service, then granted on appeal at a tribunal, but the spouse visa has not yet been issued.

In January this year Xia, known as Mary in the UK, went back to China to help look after her sick father and has stayed there since because her appeal for a spouse visa, which lasts for two-and-half years, is still being considered by the Home Office.

Wantage MP Ed Vaizey said the couple had been treated 'disgracefully' by the immigration service and has been lobbying immigration minister Robert Goodwill on their behalf.

Mr Bearns added: "The situation has left the whole family in tears – when we talk on Skype the tears are welling up.

"The alternative would be settling in China but we have made our home here in Wallingford and don't want to give up on the UK just yet, we hope this can be sorted out.

"Ryan goes to pre-school here so when he was in China and we were talking on the computer he would say 'mummy, mummy why can't we go home?'"

Mrs Bearns said: "Ryan has not been well for the past six weeks – it's a nightmare for any mum when your child is sick and you can't hug him.

"I'm trying to keep myself healthy and happy to see my little boy one day, as that’s what he wants."

Home Office spokeswoman Catherine Ellis said: "Ms Xia had left the country before the appeal judgement was returned in July 2016 – we are unable to act on appeal judgements where an appellant has left the country.

"While the judgement was outstanding, Ms Xia made an out-of-country application for a spouse visa which was refused.

"She is challenging that decision and has been advised to submit the court’s determination from July 2016 as part of her supporting evidence."