LISTEN: Dingwall deportation case set to go down to the wire
After an offer from GlenWyvis fell through, Gregg Brain says they're still hopeful of being able to secure a job-offer which will provide a suitable means to achieve a successful visa application.
An Australian family facing deportation from the UK next week are "praying for a miracle" after a job offer they were basing their visa application on fell through.
Gregg and Kathryn Brain, who have lived in Dingwall with their son Lachlan (7) since 2011, were granted leave to remain in the UK until the 1st of August.
Mr Brain and his son came to Scotland as dependants of Mrs Brain, who was on a student visa at a time when a two-year post-study visa was in existence - but it was later abolished.
They hoped a job offer made to Mrs Brain by GlenWyvis distillery in Dingwall would meet visa requirements and allow them to stay.
But as Gregg explains, the family's since learned the offer has fallen through, giving them just days to find another suitable offer of employment:-
"Just about everything we own apart from a few boxes and suitcases has been packed up in a shipping container in Inverness since late April"
"We've been living out of these boxes and on the charity of friends and the church for four months now"
"We've been prepared for this for some time now, we're almost getting used to it, but we're just very hopeful that it won't come to that and someone will help"
"The best-case scenario is that another employer will come forward, the new immigration minister Robert Goodwill has demostrated that he's quite approachable and solution-orientated"
"I would imagine he'd willing to be flexible on time-frame should an employer come along and they need to get their paperwork together - from our perspective most of that's already in place and ready to go - but any new employer would need to get that side of things in place from scratch"
"That's something that could happen - we just need that employer to put their hand up"