SNP MSP David Torrance is fighting for Ian Addie to be able to return to Scotland after living here for 30 years
A man who spent 30 years in Scotland is stuck on the other side of the world and desperate to be able to return to Fife to be with his family.
Ian Addie is trapped in a nightmare of paperwork that has left him in limbo in Perth, Australia, thousands of miles from his grown up family in Levenmouth.
Despite living and working in Scotland for three decades and raising a family, he has no official settled status, and now Kirkcaldy MSP David Torrance has stepped in to try to resolve the heartbreak.
Ian and Karen Addie on their wedding day (Pic: Submitted)Ian and Karen Addie on their wedding day (Pic: Submitted)
Ian and Karen Addie on their wedding day (Pic: Submitted)
Mr Addie and his family firmly believe he is entitled to live in Scotland and have urged the Home Office to explain what steps he needs to take so they can be reunited. Mr Torrance said he believed Mr Addie is part of the ‘Stolen Generation’ of Australian Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their parents and sent to children’s homes, foster families and adoptive families.
Although immigration is a matter reserved for Westminster, the SNP politician said: “Mr Addie's situation represents an extremely sad and exceptional case. A gentleman who has lived here for most of his life, whose wife is buried here and whose children reside here, surely deserves more consideration.”
The MSP urged immigration authorities and the UK government to “look at his case with a real sympathetic eye”.
Mr Addie was born in Australia and, as a young child, was taken from his family and later taken in as a foster child by Mary Addie and her husband, who were originally from Scotland and were working Down Under.
Ian with his family members and on his wedding day (Pics: Submitted)Ian with his family members and on his wedding day (Pics: Submitted)
Ian with his family members and on his wedding day (Pics: Submitted)
He took their name - his birth name is Ian Indich - but was never formally adopted. He recalls their return to Scotland around 1976 when he was about 11 years old and being given 12 months leave to remain here. A further year was then approved followed by a further 24 months leave specifically to further his education.
His foster parents have passed away and he has little paperwork from his childhood, and no checks appear to have been made by authorities over the intervening years as to his status. Meeting no resistance, Mr Addie assumed he had settled status and continued to live and work in the UK after turning 18.
He grew up in Levenmouth, went to Kirkland High School, got married, paid tax, held a National Insurance card and worked for 30 years in the country - he was a machinist by Donaldson Timber at Muiredge.
Together with his wife, Karen, and three children, he settled in Levenmouth until Mrs Addie was diagnosed with cancer. In May 2005, the couple decided a move to Australia would be best for her health and relocated across the world.
David Torrance MSP outside his town centre office in Kirkcaldy (Pic: Fife Photo Agency)David Torrance MSP outside his town centre office in Kirkcaldy (Pic: Fife Photo Agency)
David Torrance MSP outside his town centre office in Kirkcaldy (Pic: Fife Photo Agency)
Towards the end of 2018, the couple planned to return to the UK permanently in time for their daughter Lisa’s wedding. They had travelled here multiple times to visit family, but this time, Mr Addie had no return ticket, and was stopped at the border. He was told he needed to provide evidence of his right to reside and was given three days to collect the necessary paperwork.
The documents he did produce were deemed insufficient by Border Control and, although he was given temporary leave to attend the wedding, he could not remain and was forced to return to Australia after the trip.
His wife stayed in the UK, but after 12 months of separation with no end in sight, she returned to Australia to be by her husband’s side. Seven years passed and Mrs Addie’s cancer returned and she died.
Mr Addie, who is an Australian citizen, now wants to return to Scotland, where he has lived for the bulk of his life, where his three children live and where his support network is.
Ian and Karen on their wedding day, and photos from their family album (Pics: Submitted)Ian and Karen on their wedding day, and photos from their family album (Pics: Submitted)
Ian and Karen on their wedding day, and photos from their family album (Pics: Submitted)
His family said there were no checks or concerns raised at all during his time in Fife, and so much of his paperwork was lost following the death of his mother. His late wife fought for more than a year to get a resolution prior to selling up and returning to be with Mr Addie in Australia.
Mr Torrance said: “Mr Addie was brought here as a child by foster parents - a situation completely outwith his control. He was bought here at the age of 11 and lived here in Fife for 30 years. Educated here, married here, working here for years and years - only to be refused residence outright, doesn't seem right.
“I am fully supportive of any application Mr Addie would make for a right to reside in the UK and am happy to represent him.”
Mr Torrance first raised the case with the Home Office in September last year.
In response, the department said that where a person holds indefinite leave to remain (ILR), this will generally be considered lapsed if they are outside the UK continuously for a period of over two years. Although a full consideration was given to Mr Addie’s circumstances, the Home Office said he did not qualify.
Consideration was also given as to whether Mr Addie may have a claim to British citizenship, but his foster parents never formally adopted him - a process through which he may have gained citizenship. There was also no record of him obtaining British citizenship by another route or otherwise having a claim to it. He also did not qualify under the Windrush Scheme.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is long-standing government policy that we do not comment on individual cases. An individual’s indefinite leave to remain will lapse if the holder has been outside of the United Kingdom for a continuous period of more than two years.”