Frail mum, 96, lands in Scotland after being kicked out by Aussies
Son and daughter-in-law now face task of finding a suitable home after deportation blow
A FRAIL 96-year-old woman was flown back to Scotland last night after a visa wrangle in Australia.
Vulnerable Christina Grant, who is nearly blind and has mild dementia, had made her home with son Allan and his wife Diane in New South Wales.
She moved there from Dulnain Bridge, Strathspey, two years ago after the death of her elder son, Robert, who had looked after her.
But after her visa expired because of an error, she was told she must leave the country.
Allan and Diane flew in to Glasgow with her last night on an Emirates flight via Dubai.
And now they face the task of finding somewhere for Christina, who cannot live alone, to stay.
Allan said at the airport: “It was a long journey, over 33 hours in the end.
“It has been awful for mum, she couldn’t sleep on the plane much at all. These long-haul flights are bad enough for us.
“It is just ridiculous that the authorities couldn’t see sense and get this sorted out in a sensible way. We are heading up north now in a rental car.
“We will have to start looking immediately for somewhere for mum to stay.”
Christina took a cruise out to international waters to comply with the terms of her visa – which said she had to leave Australia for a time.
But her paperwork has expired. And because it expired rather than being cancelled, the family are unable to lodge an appeal.
As she waited for her mother-in-law to be deported, Diane posted a heartbreaking picture of her on Facebook.
It showed Christina holding her walking stick in one hand and her packed suitcase in the other.
In a desperate message, Diane blamed Australian bureaucrats for acting “unreasonably” by expiring her visa.
She wrote: “Here is 96-year-old mum with bag packed, ready to leave her only close family and her home
“Only hope we can get mum into a home to be cared for by someone in Scotland.”