The Australian family facing deportation from the UK say they are “looking for a miracle” after the job offer in the Scottish Highlands they were basing their last-ditch visa application on was unexpectedly withdrawn.
Gregg and Kathryn Brain – who have lived in Dingwall, in the Highlands, with their son Lachlan, seven, since 2011 – were granted leave to remain in the UK until 1 August following a series of appeals at Holyrood and Westminster in May.
A local distillery owner offered Kathryn Brain employment and agreed to take on the sponsorship role required by the Home Office, but the family learned last week that the offer had fallen through.
Their case gained national attention after the post-study work visa scheme that initially attracted them to Scotland was retrospectively cancelled by the UK government.
Gregg Brain told the Guardian: “Essentially, now we have one week to find another job, put that in place and get the paperwork together. We are looking for a miracle at this point.”
The family’s MP, Ian Blackford, confirmed that he had made contact with the new immigration minister Robert Goodwill, who had been “helpful and understanding up to a point” regarding the family’s predicament.
Blackford said that he was now spending his time trying to find another opportunity for the couple that will fit the necessary visa requirements, and is confident that if one is found then the Home Office will look favourably on the application timescale.
“The only thing that matters is getting a job for them,” Blackford told the Guardian. “In fairness, I don’t think that the UK government wants to see them deported, but the reality is that this is what will happen if a job opportunity isn’t found in time.”
Eariler this month, the Brains gave evidence to the home affairs select committee, during which Gregg described how the family initially came to Scotland in 2011 on Kathryn’s student visa while she took a course in Scottish history at the University of the Highlands and Islands. They intended to move on to a two-year, post-study work visa after she completed her course. But the Home Office cancelled the scheme, citing widespread abuse, forcing them to apply for the far more stringent tier 2 visa.
Gregg Brain said it was only in 2012 that the couple became aware of the cancellation of the scheme, which was first announced in March the previous year, and he reassured his wife that such a move could not be retrospective.
He told the committee: “It would seem to me a natural justice issue when people have made the decision [to move countries] and the significant life changes based on what was offered. In a country that prides itself on being the birthplace of the rule of law, to assume you will be dealt with ethically and honestly by the UK government should simply be beyond question.”
