Yes rules are rules, and are we reading all that has happened to the family or just part of it so we will feel for them?
This just shows you that you must provide funds for yourself and your family wherever you are.
Was he living in the Phils for many years, as the kids are 10 and 7, or was he living here and visiting there? Why was his partner not a British citizen? Lots of questions, but what has it to do with me anyway?
Thank god he has managed to get back to England with the benefits he will get and free hospital care too. Harsh it may be but he is lucky, it's his wife who has to go through all the heartache of maybe never seeing her kids or her partner again, unless he has savings or can get a job paying a good wage.