A petition calling for an Australian family facing deportation to be allowed to remain in Scotland has been signed by nearly 6,500 people.
It was started several months ago as a gesture of support for the Brains, who have since been given notice to leave the UK.
SNP MP Ian Blackford has likened the Home Office’s treatment of Gregg, Kathryn and seven-year-old Lachlan, whose first language is Gaelic, to the Highland Clearances.
The Dingwall-based family came to Scotland under a government initiative in 2011 on Mrs Brain’s student visa, granted in 2010.
She had planned to transfer to a two-year post-study work visa when she completed her degree, but the scheme was scrapped in 2012.
The decision was announced in 2011, three months before the family’s arrival, but they were not aware of the change until they were already in Scotland.
They have since been trying to apply for a Tier 2 visa, for people from outside the European Economic Area offered a skilled job in the UK.
After failing – in the absence of a suitable offer of work – to submit a fresh visa application in time for the UK Government’s deadline of the beginning of this month, the family was told they must go.
A Home Office spokeswoman highlighted the three extensions previously granted, but stressed the process could not be “open-ended”.
She advised that “anyone unable to regularise their stay is expected to leave the UK voluntarily”.
A government source told the Press and Journal a job offer could provide “sufficient evidence” of this, even at this stage.
Mrs Brain is currently in talks with a couple of possible employers and is “cautiously” optimistic” a job offer that qualifies may be forthcoming.
The petition argues the family’s plight exposes the shortcomings in UK immigration policy.
It adds: “They have done nothing but contribute positively both personally and financially to the UK.
“They do not deserve to be treated like criminals.”
