Gurkhas welcome visa review

Gurkha veterans working in Gwent welcomed the Government's announcement to review the cases of all former soldiers who retired from the regiment before 1997 and were refused visas.

Major Dal Limbu, a former officer in the Queen's Gurkha Engineers, was the most senior Gurkha officer until his retirement in 2005 and now works for Newport-based company Acorn Recruitment.

Mr Limbu said he is in full support of the Government's plan to revise the cases by the end of the year.

He said it is good news and they are hopeful about the outcome for Gurkhas who retired before 1997 but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Debendra Maden applied for a visa while staying with relatives in Cwmbran but this was put on hold for 10 months.

Without the right to apply for a job Mr Maden could not afford to stay as he had to raise money for his family at home in Nepal.

Mr Limbu said the wait was too long for Mr Maden and he had no choice but to go back to Nepal.

Mr Limbu now works as a full-time liaison manager where he helps ex-Gurkhas find work in South East Wales.

This includes the 61 ex-Gurkhas working at the Contour Premier Aircraft Seating factory in Llantarnam.

Mr Limbu said there are around another 40 other ex-Gurkhas working in the South East Wales area.

Ramesh Limbu who has worked at Contour since 2006 said there are a lot of people working at the plant who have friends in Nepal who were refused visas and are now very excited about the news.

Mr Ramesh Limbu served as a staff sergeant in the 2nd Royal Gurkhas Rifles from 1980 to 1998 and was later joined in Cwmbran by his wife and son.

Another worker at Contour, Singaraj Rai, said he has plenty of friends in Nepal whose applications to live and work in the UK were rejected.

Mr Rai said: "They stayed with relatives and applied to get the visa but had to go back. Without work they couldn't afford to stay."

Mr Rai, who retired after 1997, had no problem getting his visa in January 2004 and has worked at Contour for more than three years.

He said it is good news for Gurkhas who retired before 1997 but they are still fighting for their right to have the same pension as other soldiers.

October 2008