Australian family threatened with deportation from Scotland win reprieve

Gregg and Kathryn Brain and their Gaelic-speaking son Lachlan will be allowed to remain in the UK until August but have been refused the right to work

Gregg (L) Kathryn (R) and Lachlan Brain pose for photographers in Scotland's devolved Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland (Reuters)

An Australian family threatened with deportation from Scotland on Tuesday have been allowed to remain in the UK until August but will be refused the right to work.

Gregg Brain and his wife Kathryn moved from Australia to Dingwall in 2011 with their son Lachlan who, now seven, speaks Gaelic as his first language.

The father and son came to Scotland as dependents of Mrs Brain while she studied Scottish history at the University of the Highlands and Islands on a student visa.

The family had intended to obtain a two-year-post study visa after Mrs Brain completed her studies, but the scheme was abolished by the Home Office in 2012. The family were then forced to apply for a more rigorous teir 2 visa.

Gregg, Kathryn and Lachlan Brain meet Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the Scottish Parliament garden lobby on May 26 (Getty Images ) (Getty Images)

After a series of last minute appeals at Holyrood and Westminster, the SNP’s Ian Blackford - MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber - said he was informed by the Home Office on Monday evening the Highland-based family had been granted leave to remain in the UK until 1 August but would not have the right to work, despite Mrs Brain having been offered a job by GlenWyvis distillery in Dingwall, which they hoped would meet visa requirements. Mr Brain has also been offered a job by a local company, according to the Guardian.

Mr Brain said the mood within the family was currently “somewhere between elated a furious”.

He told Press Association Scotland: “We're not sure how to take it.

“I'm grateful to Mr Brokenshire for giving us the extension but that gratitude is tempered by the fact that I am - as a direct result of home office actions - homeless, unemployed, my passport remains confiscated, they have said they will be writing to the DVLA recommending that our drivers' licences be cancelled and that consideration has been given to freezing our bank accounts.”

Mr Brain said he was “having difficulty avoiding the conclusion that we're being set up to fail” because of the financial requirements they believe they may be asked to meet.

Mr Blackford has described the decision as “utterly incredulous” and called on UK Immigration Minister James Brokenshire to rethink.

The family’s case has attracted the support of the local community in Dingwall who have pulled together to raise money for legal fees and helped the family when they were forced to leave their rented accommodation.

Politicians, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, have also rallied round the family amid fears they would be deported on Tuesday.

Mr Blackford said:"I find it utterly incredulous that Home Office minister James Brokenshire has decided to extend the Brain family's right to stay in their home in Scotland but refused to grant them the right to work," said Mr Blackford.

"How does he expect Kathryn, Gregg and Lachlan to make ends meet until the beginning of August while the UK government refuses to allow them to work?

"Both Kathryn and Gregg have secured jobs in the local area, which would benefit the local economy and allow them to continue the enormous contribution that they have already made to life in the Highlands.

"What's more is that Kathryn's job for GlenWyvis Distillery is a role aimed at increasing funding for the start-up company which will in turn drive up investment and create more jobs in the Highlands.

"The Tories must urgently rethink this unfair and pig-headed decision - it cannot be right that a young family should have to live with such uncertainty and worry to continue to stay in their home."

Additional reporting by Press Association