Immigration officials prepare to throw nan out of the country after 27 years despite because she spent too long with dying parents
Irene Clennell, 52, is married to a Brit and has two sons and a granddaughter who were all born here
A GRAN is to be deported from Britain to her native Singapore despite living here for 27 years.
Irene Clennell, 52, is married to a Brit and has two sons and a granddaughter who were all born here.
But she breached immigration rules by spending too long out of the country visiting her dying parents and is now being held in a detention centre awaiting deportation.
Before her arrest Irene, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, said: "The kids were born here, my husband is from this country so I don't see what he issue is. But they keep rejecting all the applications.
"I want to see my grand-daughter grow up and my husband is not getting any better. I want to be with my family.
"If I do go back, I don't know when I'll be able to see them again.
“I have got no family in Singapore and I have no property in Singapore.
My parents are dead. My only family is a sister, and she is working in India. My husband is British. I do not see why I cannot stay.”
Irene arrived in the UK in 1988 and said she was given indefinite leave to remain after she married husband John, 50, in the same year.
But periods spent back in Singapore caring for her elderly parents have invalidated her residential status.
She has spent £2,000 on repeated attempts both in Singapore and in the UK to re-apply for permission to live with her husband but without luck.
Irene, is not allowed to work but does not claim benefits, was detained at a routine appointment at an immigration reporting centre in Middlesbrough last month and was taken to a detention centre in Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Her husband John, 50, a former gas engineer, is struggling with poor health following a heart op and Irene has been his main carer.
He said: "She's been looking after me because I'm unwell.
"I think she should be allowed to stay. She's part of a married family.
"It is mental torture because of the stress. Both of her kids were born here. They are British citizens and she is the biological mother.
"I cannot see any reason why she cannot stay. I have paid more than enough taxes."
Nazek Ramadan, of campaign group Migrant Voice, said: “It’s an example of how arbitrary policies tear apart families.”
A spokesman for The Home Office said: “We do not comment on individual cases.”