DAD Steve Bearns is celebrating after visa problems, which left his wife stranded in China, were finally resolved.

The 56-year-old has been living with son Ryan, three, in Wallingford, but problems over the visa of his wife Xia Zu – known as Mary in the UK – means she has been unable to return from China.

Father-of-one Mr Bearns met Xia Zu, 35, in Shenzhen, China, in 2006 and they married there in 2010.

The technology firm operations manager and his wife agreed to apply for a spouse visa as part of the process of being allowed to live in the UK.

The application was refused by the Immigration Service despite the couple having a child together, then granted on appeal at a tribunal, but the spouse visa was not issued.

Now Mr Bearns said the matter has finally been resolved and he was looking forward to being reunited with his wife and son, who has been with his mother since the New Year.

He said: “I feel absolutely elated and I’m looking forward to seeing my wife and son again soon.

“It looks like the Immigration Service has changed its mind and I am confident the matter has now been resolved.

“I know Mary won’t believe it until she is back home in Wallingford. I am hoping she will get her new passport by the end of the week.

“We have lost a year of our lives which we will never get back but at least we can now look forward to the future.”

A spokesman for the Home Office said: “This case has been reviewed in light of the appeal court’s decision.

“We have contacted Ms Zu and are progressing her application.”

Earlier repeated attempts to bring forward an appeal hearing were not successful and Mr Bearns and his wife agreed that their son should divide his time between them.

After Mr Bearns called for the Immigration Service to speed up an appeal hearing, the request was turned down and a hearing was scheduled for Thursday, March 9.

Earlier this year Mr Bearns travelled with Ryan to China where he spent a week with Mary before leaving Ryan and returning to Wallingford.

The father-of-one bought tickets for his wife and son to fly home on April 25, but now he expects his wife and son to fly home sooner.

The couple moved to Wallingford after their son was born in 2013. At first Mrs Bearns, 35, was granted a family visit visa that allowed her to stay in the UK for 180 days of any 12-month period.

Mrs Bearns then went back to China to help look after her father and remained there while the visa dispute was being resolved.