Hard-working family faces deportation from Britain because they are not from the EU
Brain family came legally from Australia as part of a scheme to attract immigrants to rural areas but then the Government changed the rules
AN AUSTRALIAN family threatened with deportation from Britain say they have been ‘set up to fail’ in their fight to stay.
Gregg Brain came with his wife Kathryn and son Lachlan in 2011 during a Government drive to attract people to live in rural areas.
But they are now battling deportation after the Government changed the rules after they arrived.
They were due to be put on a plane by Home Office officials yesterday after being told they don’t meet the immigration criteria.
Following lobbying by their MP, the First Minister of Scotland and their community, they have been given a two month reprieve but fear they are facing a losing battle.
The hard-working family says the deportation farce risks leaving them homeless and bankrupt.
Mr Brain said: “If we are not a poster family for successful immigration, I'm not sure who is.
“Theresa May has said that she is happy to welcome immigrants who can linguistically and culturally assimilate, and pay their own way.
“We are also willing to live and work in a sparsely populated and economically depressed area of the country.”
He said their lack of funds meant they would automatically fail a visa requirement for families to show £945 in 'maintenance funds' for each family member.
Speaking to the BBC the 48-year-old added: “We are finding it difficult to avoid the conclusion that we are being set up to fail.”
And on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme he said: “If I can quote from (Immigration Minister) James Brokenshire's letter, he said that applicants should never assume that the provisions in place at the time of their initial entry to the UK will continue to be viable options in future years.
"Unfortunately it seems that the UK Government's stated policy on the matter is to be untrustworthy in their dealings with immigrants."
He added: "Well, at the moment we're essentially homeless but for the charity of friends.
"We're unemployed, our passports have been confiscated, the Home Office has said that they will be writing to the DVLA recommending that our licences be cancelled and they are considering freezing our bank accounts."
The family's MP, SNP Ian Blackford, said the Home Office ruling was "simply wrong".
The MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber told Today: "It's a body blow both to themselves but also to the wider community.
“It's simply wrong and it just seems absolutely incredible that when both Kathryn and Gregg have job offers on the table that the Government are really doing what they can to stymie them.
"And we need to remember that the family have to show that they have sufficient funds to support themselves.
“But their savings are being drawn down simply because of the fact that they can't work, you would almost take the view that the Government are trying to force them out the country."
The Brain family moved to Dingwall in Ross-Shire, Scotland, five years ago with Gregg and Lachlan counting as dependents of Kathryn while she was studying history on a student visa.
Mr Brain found work in a legal office and his wife had a job at an estate agent.
Now her course has finished the couple were intending to stay on with a two-year post-study work visa.
But this was scrapped by the Home Office back in 2012, 10 months after they arrived and the reports they were told they were no longer able to work.
There would be no problems if they were from the European Union, and would be allowed to come to Britain, find jobs and raise families without having to get visas.
Instead they have been told they must apply for a more complex ‘tier two’ visa – for people outside the European Economic Area – who have been offered a skilled job in Britain.
Kathryn has now been offered a job with a distillery which they hope would qualify her for the visa but part of the conditions of being allowed to stay until August 1 is they are not allowed to work.
They have the support of Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon who said: “The government changed the rules before these people had a chance to benefit.
“The wee boy is a Gaelic speaker and is, to all intents and purposes, Scottish.”
The Home Office confirmed it had granted the family a further two-month extension to a grace period it was previously given, but said evidence of a relevant job in line with immigration rules had not been provided to date.
It said an application for the family to remain in the UK would be considered if submitted during the grace period.