THEY moved to Scotland with dreams of a permanent new life in their adopted country.
Indian computer expert Navjot Singh and his wife Nidhi were the kind of immigrants that the Scottish Government was hoping to attract to boost a declining population and build the economy.
The couple settled in 2004 in Perth, where their first d
aughter, Kashish, now eight, enrolled in primary school and a second daughter, Tanisha, was born. In July this year, under immigration rules, they would have been eligible for permission to stay in the UK indefinitely.
But their dreams were cruelly shattered in January when Singh died from a heart attack at the age of just 35. Now his widow and children, who were forced to leave Scotland after the unexpected death as they only had "dependent" status, are fighting to be allowed to return to the country.
Recent changes to a "points-based" immigration system mean that the family are struggling to make the case to come back to the country they now consider to be their home.
Nidhi, who has a degree in electronics and communications, says she wants to live close to where her husband's remains were scattered – he was cremated within 72 hours according to Hindu custom – and where her eldest daughter was at school.
Speaking from her new temporary home in Pune, an Indian city near Mumbai, 34-year-old Nidhi said: "My husband's ashes were scattered in the River Tay and to me he is still there in Scotland. My daughter was at school there for more than three years and misses her friends.
"My youngest daughter was born in Scotland and has known no other country. She has been unwell with tummy bugs caused by the water and the heat ever since we left. Moving back to Scotland is very important to me."
The family's case has now been taken up by Perth MP Pete Wishart, who says he will be writing to the Home Office to highlight the family's plight.
Wishart said: "This family are in a dreadful situation. I am appalled by what has happened and this shows how bureaucratic and rigid the rules are.
"Nidhi has a useful contribution to make to the Perth community, her children have started their education here and she should be allowed to come back to the UK without being subject to this bureaucratic nonsense.
"What we need is a system that works on behalf of families placed in this particular and unusual situation."
The new Australian-style "points system" introduced by the Home Office earlier this year means new immigrants have to amass enough points – based on factors such as a job offer, skills shortages and community links – to gain entry to the UK.
"The points based system has made the situation worse for the type of people we want to keep in Scotland," Wishart said. "What we want is to attract this type of person, not chase them away because they are a few points too short.
"Under the old system, it was based more on the merits of the case and there was more discretion.
"I would like the Home Office to look more sympathetically on cases like this without the full force of the rules being applied. There is strong case here for mitigation and anyone who looks at it will agree that this woman and her daughters should be allowed back into Scotland."
The family's Scottish solicitor is Paul Trodden, of Perth solicitors McCash and Hunter, who became involved in the case when Nidhi approached the firm for help after her husband's death.
"Nidhi and the girls' right to remain died with Mr Singh," Trodden said. "She and they were here solely as dependants.
"Had Navjot lived until now he would have made an application for indefinite leave to remain, his family would have got indefinite leave to remain and everything would have been fine.
"Unfortunately, the immigration rules changed recently and everything seems to be going against her. Given her qualifications, even in this period of recession, she should be able to obtain work in her field of expertise.
"Another family member already living in the UK is willing to sponsor her. She would seek to be allowed to reside in the UK on the same basis as her late husband, which is no recourse to public funds and being able to work.
"But although Nidhi is qualified and has already worked here on a part-time basis she is unlikely to be able to accumulate enough points under the new system to come back here."
Nidhi reluctantly agreed to return to India with her children earlier this year because she did not want to remain in Scotland illegally.
They are currently living with relatives in Pune, existing on the life insurance benefits paid out by Singh's employer, Indian IT firm Wipro.
Although he was working for Norwich Union on a placement at the time of his death, he was still an employee of Wipro, so the benefits were a fraction of those that would have been paid out to the family of a British employee.
The case is fuelling calls for immigration policy to be devolved from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament. The previous Labour administration at Holyrood launched a Fresh Talent Initiative aimed at attracting skilled immigrants to Scotland because of the country's declining population.
Wishart said the SNP was calling for immigration powers for Scotland to be devolved to the Scottish parliament to reinvigorate the initiative. "The current system is suited to the south of England where there is no shortage of immigrants," he said. "In Scotland we have problems attracting suitably qualified people."
jwatson@scotlandonsunday.com
