A Perth woman has talked of the “unbearable stress” placed on her family after she claimed the Home Office ordered her to leave the country.
Mother-of-two Anne Davies (31) is originally from South Africa, but has lived in Britain for almost 10 years.
The school cook told The Courier of her devastation after immigration service representatives ordered her to return to Africa when her visa expires.
Anne said her husband, 34-year-old Kevin, and children Logan (4) and Duncan (21 months) were struggling to come to terms with the news.
With her family on the brink of being ripped apart, last night she pleaded with the Home Office to reconsider its decision.
“I really don’t want to go back to South Africa,” she said.
“My family is settled in Perth and I love living and working here.”
She said the stress is starting to affect her young family.
“Logan knows there is something wrong which is heartbreaking,” she said.
“He keeps saying he doesn’t want me to go away.
“He says I can go to South Africa on holiday but tells me I have to come home again.
“At four years old you shouldn’t have to go through that kind of worry.”
Having lived in Britain for the best part of a decade, the prospect of leaving the country she has come to think of as home is incredibly painful.
“I arrived in England in 2000 and then came to Scotland on a holiday-making visa,” she said.
“Kevin and I then decided to get married, but I did not want to use that as an excuse to stay in the country, so I applied for an ancestry visa as my grandmother was British.
“That was granted, but ran out in 2006.”
After contacting the Home Office to ask their advice, she applied for a five-year visa, which was granted.
However, there was a three-month gap between the expiry of the ancestry visa and the acceptance of her fresh application.
“I decided to apply for indefinite leave this year as I am completely settled in Scotland and cannot afford to keep applying for temporary visas,” she said.
“That latest application alone cost me £840, and I couldn’t believe it when I got a letter this week saying it had been refused.
“They stated I was in the country illegally between August and December 2006, but that was only because the Home Office initially sent out the wrong forms and I had to keep chasing them up.”
The letter sent to Anne states she should return to South Africa in 2012.
“It does say I could reapply when my current visa expires, but I don’t want to leave it until the last minute because of what happened in 2006,” she continued.
“I have got a family here but I face being kicked out of the country I love.”
Anne has done everything in her power to ensure her stay in the UK is legal.
“Unfortunately I have very little confidence in the Home Office and I am worried sick about the situation,” she said.
“I have lots of friends here from South Africa and they have had no problems getting indefinite leave.”
When contacted by The Courier, a spokeswoman at the UK Border Agency pledged to look into the case.
She added that an illegal period of habitation could not be used as a reason to deny a visa if it resulted from any fault on the part of the Home Office.
The Home Office last night insisted the refusal of her latest visa application did not mean Anne would necessarily be removed from the country.
However, Victoria Bowman, deputy director of the UK Border Agency in Scotland, defended the decision to refuse her latest bid.
“Ms Davies has not been asked to leave the country her current visa is still valid and doesn’t expire until 2012,” she said.
“Her refusal was correct as the immigration rules clearly state that those applying for UK ancestry must have five years’ continuous lawful residence.
“Ms Davies had no lawful residence in the UK between August and December 2006, so her application was refused.
“The onus is on the applicant to ensure they apply for an extension of their leave in good time and before their current leave expires.
“Application forms and our guidance are available on our website and were available at the time that Ms Davies applied.”