THERESA May has been urged to intervene to stop the “heartbreaking” deportation battle threatening to tear a Scottish family apart.
Yesterday, The National revealed that two-year-old Milana Merry is at the centre of an immigration row that could see her forced to live more than 1000 miles apart from one of her parents.
Milana was born in Scotland to dad Derek and mum Volha, who is from Belarus but moved to Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, after marrying her husband.
The pair settled using a legal route and say they have fulfilled all the necessary criteria for Volha – known as Olya to live here permanently.
But after losing a string of visa appeals, she has been given seven days to quit the country or face deportation.
The message orders her to report to police or immigration officers in Glasgow tomorrow and warns that she may face detention and removal if she does not comply.
The story triggered a wave of support from members of the public, including Gregg Brain, whose family survived a high-profile visa battle.
Last night, the Merrys’ SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor urged Theresa May to end the “scandalous” situation. He said: “This is a heartbreaking case, and one in which the Prime Minister must intervene personally and immediately.
“It is nothing short of scandalous that a young child who was born in this country, with a parent who is Scottish and a UK citizen, is now effectively being deported – unless the Home Office are suggesting that a two-year-old should be forcibly separated from her mother, that is exactly what they are proposing.
“Tory immigration policy has led to this kind of situation happening all too frequently as they seek to hit their arbitrary net migration targets, without paying any heed to individual family circumstances.
“They just ignore the human consequences time and time again. Mrs Merry’s husband is a UK citizen, and their young daughter was born in Wishaw – it is simply disgraceful that the UK Government has so far ignored her case and pushed forward with an attempt to tear this family apart. The Prime Minister must intervene immediately – there is no time to spare if we are to succeed in keeping this young family together in Scotland.”
In his letter to May, MacGregor – who has also asked External Affairs Minister Fiona Hyslop for help –tells how he contacted Home Secretary Amber Rudd on March 22, but has received “no response”.
He goes on: “I am asking you to intervene in this case to allow Mrs Merry to remain with her family in Scotland.”
The letter continues: “It is clear that they have built their family life here and it is perfectly reasonable for them to expect to remain in Scotland.”
As Olya is a citizen of a non-European Union nation, the couple settled in Ireland in order to gain legal right to live in the UK through freedom of movement rules. They took jobs and accommodation there for twice the minimum time limit, but the Home Office now contends that they failed to do enough to make Ireland their “centre of life”, something they dispute.
Olya said she feels she is being “treated like a criminal” and is suffering from stress.
Yesterday, Derek, who works for supermarket chain Lidl, thanked readers of The National for their support after we revealed his family’s plight. He said: “My wife and I are very touched by the comments.
“I was terrified of the response we would get. I’m a very private person but this is desperate, we’ve got no choice.”
Responding to the family’s story, Australian national Brain, said UK Cabinet minister Michael Gove had pledged that “this sort of thing” would no longer happen in the result of a Brexit majority.
In June 2016 the politician said it would be “for Scotland to decide” on immigration numbers and highlighted the case of the Brains, who relocated to the Highlands under a student visa scheme before falling prey to a rule-change.
Gove said EU freedom of movement rules put limits on the numbers allowed from non-EU countries.
Yesterday, Brain posted on our website: “In June of 2016, Michael Gove promised that this sort of thing wouldn’t happen if the UK voted for Brexit. He specifically used my family as an example, and said, ‘It would be for Scotland to decide’. Mr Gove, if you are a man of honour, you must step forward to save this family.”
The Home Office said Rudd will respond to MacGregor “in due course”. It does not routinely comment on individual cases and says “clear rules” exist for British citizens seeking to bring spouses from countries outwith the European Economic Area.
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