THE woman threatened with deportation away from her Scottish husband and daughter by mistake has finally received her apology, The National can reveal.
Olya Merry was told she risked forcible removal from the UK if she did not leave voluntarily within seven days.
The news prompted public outcry, with more than 30,300 people signing a petition, and saw the 28-year-old’s case raised in both Westminster and Holyrood as the family battled to stay together.
Last Monday the family’s MP Hugh Gaffney revealed the deportation threat was off after receiving a phone call from the Home Office.
An official told the Labour politician that the removal letter had been sent in error. However, no direct message was sent to the family, leaving them with questions about the next steps.
Now a formal letter has arrived at the family’s Coatbridge home. It was delivered through the mail on Saturday, six days after the MP’s call.
Dated May 3, it was written almost one month after the removal letter, which was dated April 4.
Confirming the message given to Gaffney, it was written by Olya’s newly appointed case worker and notifies the language expert that she will no longer have to report to an immigration centre in Glasgow at regular intervals as her application to remain is once again put through the system.
The letter states: “I am writing to you in regards to the ... ‘Removal from United Kingdom’ notice which was sent to you on 04 April 2018.
“Having reviewed your current immigration situation, we can confirm that this notice was issued in error.
“It has now been withdrawn, and the reporting conditions set upon you have been cancelled.
“Please accept our apologies for this error, and our assurance that we are not attempting to remove you from the United Kingdom.”
Olya, whose birth country, Belarus, is not part of the European Union, met Scots-born husband Derek when providing translation services for a project he was working on. The pair followed government advice and set up home in another EU country, Ireland, in order to gain the right to live together legally in the UK.
The migration route involved taking jobs and accommodation in their new country for a minimum of three months.
The couple stayed there for almost six months – nearly twice the required threshold – before coming to Scotland to prepare for the arrival of daughter Milana, who was born at Wishaw General Hospital.
The pair say it was important to Derek that their newborn share his Scottish nationality.
But while Olya was granted permission to move to North Lanarkshire, a subsequent application for a residence card was turned down on the basis that Derek had not done enough to base his “centre of life” in Ireland.
Now the Home Office has requested a catalogue of documents from Olya, who says she has been through “hell”, as it reconsiders whether or not to give her permission to remain.
This includes a request for polling cards, letters from GP surgeries confirming appointment dates, gym contracts and more, as well as Milana’s birth certificate.
The material was provided to the family’s solicitor David McGlashan – who led the Brain family’s successful fight against deportation to Australia – following an exchange on Sunday.
Derek said McGlashan, of Glasgow practice McGlashan MacKay, is the “right man” to handle their case.
He said: “He’s an absolute gent, he’s been brilliant.
“His track record speaks for itself.”
On the Home Office letter, the supermarket worker went on: “We’re relieved to get the letter, but we still need to get the decision on a residence card. We don’t know how long it will take.
“We just want to get back to living a normal life.”
The past month has seen the family thrust into the public eye and included a visit to Holyrood to meet Nicola Sturgeon, thanks to MSP Fulton MacGregor.
Yesterday he said: “I’m happy that the family have eventually received an apology.
“It’s absolutely horrendous that they were put through this situation in the first place. Many other families have likely been put through the same.The Home Office needs to get this sorted and stop putting families through hell.
“After all that has happened, they should prioritise Olya’s case, but they need to take a much more humane approach to immigration cases.”
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