Highland MP Drew Hendry today vowed to keep fighting for the Canadian owners of the shop made famous by Monarch of the Glen to be able to stay in the UK.
David Cameron agreed last week to look into the decision to deport the Zielsdorfs, who were forced to put their business up for sale after they were told they must leave Britain by June.
Jason and Christy have spent some £250,000 breathing new life into community hub Laggan Stores, which is the only shop in the village.
But the Home Office has refused to renew their entrepreneur visa, concluding the application does not score enough points to qualify.
The visa extension requirements include an investment of £200,000 and the creation of two full-time jobs that have existed for 12 months.
Mr Hendry had hoped the Home Office would think again after Mr Cameron’s response at Prime Minister’s Questions.
But on Friday, he received a letter from Immigration Minister James Brokenshire confirming the family has “no basis of stay in the UK”.
Mr Hendry told the Press and Journal the response showed the “disconnect and disregard that UK Government immigration policy has for the people and communities in the Highlands”.
He added: “It is not the end of the work that I will do for the Zielsdorfs … But it is very difficult to see how we can move forward in light of such intransigence from the Home Office and by extension the prime minister himself.
“My request was specifically that he work with me to see what could be done.”
On Wednesday, Mr Cameron agreed to “certainly have a look” at the case, before insisting he would make sure the Home Office examined it “urgently”.
Father-of-five Mr Zielsdorf, 44, said he was disappointed as he had hoped the Tory leader would bring a voice from outside the Home Office that could potentially make them listen.
He said he and his wife were not surprised, although added: “We wanted to hope.”
Mr Brokenshire’s letter, on behalf of the PM, said Mr Zielsdorf’s application had been refused because “he did not score any points in the attributes category”.
It continued: “When making this assessment, the Home Office took into account the remote location of the business and the potential difficulties in attracting long or full-term employees.
However, it was not deemed appropriate to show discretion.
“It is right and fair that the immigration rules are consistently applied in all cases.”
History of case
Jason Zielsdorf’s application to renew his entrepreneur visa was rejected last June.
The businessman, who was previously on a student and then post-study work visa, said he thought his application – submitted with 67 letters of support from the local community – had a decent chance of being approved.
But it was judged poor – even his hefty financial investment was deemed invalid because of a holiday let on the site.
It was refused again in August after an administrative review and in January, the couple – whose youngest child was born in the UK – received a letter confirming they had no legal recourse to be in the UK.
Because they have agreed to leave willingly, the family has been granted a few months to tie up their affairs.
The letter to Drew Hendry reiterates the Home Office’s original position. It also confirms it will not be possible to reinstate Mr Zielsdorf’s driving licence, which has been revoked.
Laggan Stores became known to millions of TV viewers as McKechnie’s in the BBC series Monarch of the Glen.
