A British mum has been left “penniless” and stranded in the Dominican Republic after marrying a toy boy and losing her £40,000 ($A77,645) life savings.

Stricken Claire Alcantara, 46, from Dudley, West Midlands, struck up a cyber romance with Caribbean student Franklin Alcantara in 2013 after coming out of a messy divorce.

Just six months later she applied for a tourist visa for Franklin – 12 years younger than her – to visit her in the UK but it was refused.

The mum-of-three then jetted out to the Dominican Republic for a month to be with her new lover – and while there began spending cash on his family home.

She told the Mirror: “He was good looking and had the body of a god. Soon we were Skyping daily. I’d just come out of a terrible divorce so it felt exciting.

“I’m heartbroken and penniless.”

Claire then returned to the UK and the couple decided to marry but her bids to get him into Britain were constantly knocked back by immigration officials.

The former teaching assistant then took drastic measure to be with her lover and decided to ditch her British citizenship for an Irish passport.

This allowed to get a spousal visa as she was classed as an EU worker living in the UK.

She moved him into her home in the West Midlands in 2014 despite repeated warnings from her daughters and opened a “joint-account” in the Dominican to fund the construction of a new flat on top of his dad’s home.

Shattered Claire – now living in a shack on the island – said: “I was advised UK law would override EU law so I decided to give up my British citizenship so I was solely Irish – or an EU citizen living in the UK.

“He was granted a UK visa as spouse of an EU worker. My daughters said, ‘Don’t do it’. I spent £15,000 ($A29,116).”

Claire says she bought Franklin a £10,000 ($A19,411) Jeep – and continued transferring cash to their “joint account”.

Then in December 2017 they sold up in the UK and moved to his homeland for good, where she renovated Franklin’s family home.

But he went missing and Claire became suspicious before discovering in December 2018 that he was living in England with another woman.

Claire said: “He told me he was moving to Punta Cana to build a hotel as part of his civil engineering course, but he actually went back to England.”

She claimed his family evicted her after she reported him to immigration.

Claire is desperate to return home to the UK but says she can’t afford the flight and now, she says her husband is “living illegally in the UK”.

The mum said that after she reported him in 2018 she was told by the British Embassy that their “joint” account was solely in his name.

She went on: “I fainted with shock. When I confronted Franklin, he claimed it was a misunderstanding.”

Days later, he announced plans to work away for three months.

Claire added: “Soon three months became six. I started to get suspicious.

“I spent all my money on Franklin and can’t afford the flight. I should never have sacrificed a thing for him.”

She has now found a “very low-paid” job in Santo Domingo and is staying with a new boyfriend, but is desperate to get home.

Back in the UK, Franklin reveals he is to be deported next month.

He said: “We had a good relationship in England, then Claire said we had to go to Dominican Republic because she couldn’t live with her daughter.

“I wanted to stay in England. We lived in a house with my dad. She was the one that said let’s do the floor, the window bars, the paint.

“It was about £6,000 ($A11,646), not £15,000 ($A29,116). Then she brought her daughter and they were always fighting.

“I lied and said I was going to Punta Cana. If I told her I was going to England, Claire would have said no because it was too cold.

“Yes, I had a new girlfriend, but she dumped me after Claire contacted her.”

He insisted Claire did not spend £40,000 ($A77,645) on him and says they both bought the car and he gave her £3,000 ($A5823) back as their relationship fell apart.

He also denied their joint account was solely in his name, saying: “She spent all the money, but not on me. She ruined everything.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission