An African dad who suffered imprisonment and torture in his homeland has won his battle to stay on Teesside.
Ildeberto Marial fled war-torn Angola three years ago because of political persecution by the authorities.
The 21-year-old built a new life in Stockton with his wife Rebecca, 24, and their one-year-old baby Emily.
But the family endured a heart-wrenching year of separation in 2003 when Ildeberto was refused asylum, arrested and detained hundreds of miles away from his loved ones.
And although they were reunited when Ildeberto was granted bail, he was later told by the Home Office that he would have to leave his family behind and return to his "safe" homeland, which is still recovering from 27 years of civil war and is one of the world's poorest countries.
But after months of legal wrangling, the family were celebrating after Ildeberto was finally handed a visa in time for Christmas.
"I can't believe it's all over," he said. "I just didn't know where I was going to end up. I thought I was going back to Angola for good but in the end all I had to do was go back for a month in November.
"My solicitor spoke to immigration and they worked something out and I applied to return as a spouse of a UK citizen. At the minute it's a two-year visa but at the end of that I can apply for indefinite leave."
Ildeberto said at times he has struggled to cope with his ordeal. During his time in the detention centre he missed the birth of his only child and Rebecca was left alone to bring up baby Emily, and her other children Kaitlin, six, and Benjamin, three. But he was buoyed by the support of the local community. After his story was first featured in the Gazette in 2004, the office of the National Coalition for Anti-Deportation Campaigns was flooded with goodwill messages.
He said: "I want to thank everyone who helped, they were all amazing. It's good that everything is settled at last and I'm now going to get work and support my family. I also want to go to college."
Rebecca said she was overjoyed to finally have the family together at their home on Bickersteth Walk, Stockton.
"It's been terrible not knowing what's going to happen - the uncertainty," she said. "Now we just want to get on with our lives."
