The Indian-born wife of a Scottish former lance corporal who was facing deportation from the Highlands has been granted leave to remain in the UK.
Gloria Macleod, whose husband Robert grew up in Dingwall and now works in Dubai, was denied entry to the UK at Inverness airport in September, despite holding a valid visa. The couple have two daughters, who are British citizens.
Her passport was confiscated and she was threatened with deportation within days, facing the prospect of leaving Siobhan, 11, and 10-year-old Meaghan in the care of their elderly grandparents.
Macleod’s local MP, Ian Blackford, described the visa dispute as “madness”. Only a month ago, Blackford had celebrated with another family of constituents, the Brains, who were granted leave to remain after fighting since April against deportation to Australia.
Gloria’s husband, Robert, whom she married in 2003, is a former Royal Regiment of Scotland lance corporal. The family, who had been living in Dubai, where Robert works as a security manager, returned to Dingwall in July, where Siobhan and Meaghan enrolled in the same primary school attended by seven-year-old Lachlan Brain.
Although Gloria, an Indian passport holder, possessed a UK C-Visit passport, which is valid for 10 years, the couple decided that she should apply for permanent residence to allow her to remain in Scotland while the girls attended school and Robert continued working in Dubai.
After advice from the visa office in Dubai, acting on behalf of the UK immigration service, that her application had to be made in person, Gloria briefly left the UK to complete her application process. But when she returned she was denied entry.
After Blackford’s intervention, Macleod was given a stay of removal until the UK immigration minister, Robert Goodwill, formally responded to the SNP MP’s inquiry about the case, and the Home Office have now granted her a 30-month visa.
Macleod described herself as “delighted”, adding: “We couldn’t be more pleased with the quick turnaround from the Home Office in issuing my visa and appreciate the help from everyone involved.”
Blackford said: “This has been a huge trauma for the family. Gloria already had a visa that gave her the right to be in Dingwall when immigration officials sought to remove her right to reenter the country. The good news is that the Home Office has now given longer leave to remain and the family can get back to normal life. I am so pleased for all of them.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “All applications for leave to remain are considered on their individual merits in line with the immigration rules.”
