An American singer who has performed for Scottish politicians is being supported by the country’s First Minister after her UK immigration status was put in jeopardy when her boyfriend suddenly left her.
Morgan Carberry has lived in Scotland for nearly a decade under a spouse visa and was a few weeks away from the date when she could apply for indefinite leave to remain when her relationship broke down. Because she is no longer with her boyfriend, she is not allowed to remain in the UK on a spouse visa.
Now Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond is making representations on her behalf to UK Immigration Minister James Brokenshire. Mr Salmond’s letter calls for the Minister to use his discretion to allow Ms Carberry to remain due to “the compelling nature of her commitment to the culture, community and economy of Scotland”.
Ms Carberry told The Herald: “Literally out of the blue, about two weeks before the first date I could apply for clearance, my partner left me. There was not a hint of a problem in the relationship.”
She has now booked a flight back to the US but said she was confident she will come back to Scotland.
“I have every faith that I will come back to Scotland and the UK one day as I have built such a network of personal and professional connections here,” said Ms Carberry.
She initially came to Scotland via a British Government Marshall Scholarship and remained on a post-study work visa, before obtaining a general UK visa and then settling on a spouse visa because she considered a simpler way to remain permanently in the UK.