lochaber woman’s joy as officials back down

Highland nurse wins £750 red tape battle

By Samantha Chetwynd

Published:

A Highland nurse who feared deportation because of Home Office red tape told last night of her joy after hearing she can start a new job and stay in the UK.

Canada-born Heather Cavin, 59, has lived in Britain for over 50 years but was told she must apply for permanent residency when she submitted an application for a job as a district nurse near her home in Lochaber.

Officials said her Canadian passport lacked a Home Office stamp and she needed to pay £750 to apply for permanent residency, known as indefinite leave to remain.

But yesterday the mother of four was told by the UK Border Agency that she did not have to pay the fee, paving the way for her to start her new job with NHS Highland.

Earlier this week the Press and Journal revealed that Mrs Cavin had not been able to start work because she did not have a UK passport.

The nurse refused to pay the £750 charge, saying she had always paid her taxes, worked and voted and had never been on the dole.

Mrs Cavin, of Lovat Road, Kinlochleven, said she needed the job to help pay for caring for her sick husband Daniel, 82, who has recently undergone heart surgery in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Yesterday she told how she had been contacted by the UK Border Agency on the day the story broke in the P&J.

She said: “Someone from their office in Glasgow got in touch and asked me to send them my birth certificate, my mother and father’s marriage certificate because they were married in the UK, and my mother’s birth certificate.

“They said that once they had received that they would get in touch with NHS Highland so I can start my job.

“They said I wouldn’t need to pay any fee and that I shouldn’t have been sent the form in the first place.”

Mrs Cavin came to the UK on her father’s Canadian passport when she was seven, and in the 1980s trained as a nurse in West Yorkshire. Since then she has worked at several hospitals.

For the last four years she has worked part-time as a private practice nurse at Kinlochleven.

She said: “I’m so happy that finally I’ll be able to start my job. That is all I’ve wanted.

“I was so angry when the letter came saying that I had to pay £750.”

Mrs Cavin added that her husband was now back at home and recuperating from his operation.

Last night a spokeswoman for the UK Border Agency said they did not comment on individual cases, but added: “We have no plans to deport anyone in the Kinlochleven area, nor have we threatened to do so.”

She added: “Under immigration law, it is the responsibility of foreign nationals to apply to the Home Office to establish their immigration status.”

NHS Highland employment chief John Huband said: “This is positive news. We look forward to receiving the details from the Border Agency and having Mrs Cavin come to work for us."

Highlands and Islands MSP and Tory health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said: “I am delighted that commonsense has prevailed.

“Whilst we expect the Home Office to protect us from terrorists, I think someone who has lived for half a century in the UK applying for a job to serve her community could not be considered in any way a threat.”