The case of 28-year-old Adam Wallis and 19-year-old Canadian Rochelle Roberts is taxing the minds of our great-and-good. The couple who met two-years ago and recently married face separation.

Adam Wallis and Canadian Rochelle Roberts, who married in the UK a week after her visa ran out, face an enforced year and a half of separation until she is 21.

Their plight is the result of the Forced Marriages Act, which has increased the minimum age for spousal visas to 21 in an attempt to reduce the possibility of forced marriages. Mark Tran, The Guardian.

On of those great-and-good:

Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee, said last night the case could prompt a change in the law, adding: “This is clearly a case which needs to be looked at by a minister.” Mark Tran, The Guardian.

The Home Office responds

“Rochelle Roberts was refused permission to remain as a spouse because she came as a visitor and remained here illegally after her visa expired.

“The immigration rules are clear that those people who arrive as visitors and those that remain here illegally cannot remain in the United Kingdom as a spouse. Rochelle Roberts’s age was not the reason her application was refused.

“As a measure to protect young people from being pressurised into sponsoring a spouse from overseas, we have raised the age for sponsorship for a marriage visa from 18 to 21 … overall, we believe there are various benefits outweighing the drawbacks.” Mark Tran, The Guardian.

Personally I find a 26-year-old man dicking around with a 17-year-old teenager pretty creepy, but hey maybe that’s just me. And anyway what’s wrong with applying for another visa and then getting married?