Grigg family in Adelaide torn apart as Scots-born wife faces deportation within days after computer error – while rapists and murderers are allowed to stay in Australia

A family is desperately fighting to stay together in Australia after their Scottish-born mother was deported due to a government computer glitch.

The Grigg family have lived in Adelaide for three years, but mother-of-two Kirsty has spent the last three months in the shadow of deportation to Scotland after an IT error in an uncompleted visa application form escaped their attention.

But since making their plight public, the Griggs have now been told not to make any travel plans for Kirsty on April 9, which was her deadline to leave the country, as her case has now been submitted for possible ministerial intervention.

The case is the latest looming immigration debacle for the Albanian government, which is bracing for more hardened criminals to be released onto Australia’s streets if the High Court rules another 170 people will remain in detention indefinitely.

Kristy, 53, and Australian husband Nick, 56, brought their son, 11, and daughter, 16, to Australia from Ayrshire, south of Glasgow in central Scotland, in 2021 to care for Mr Grigg’s elderly parents and a new to create a house.

“We fully intended this to be our new life and we stayed,” Ms Grigg told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.

‘We sold our house before we left and moved all our belongings, including our dog. We were like, ‘We’re moving to stay.’

“We literally have nothing to return to. I have one sister, that’s about it. I would go back to nothing.”

Just before Christmas, the Griggs got their first indication that something was wrong after receiving a letter from Medicare stating that due to Mrs Kirsty’s changed visa status, she and the children would no longer be covered.

It was only by searching a spam folder that they found an email from Immigration showing that Ms Grigg’s visa extension had been rejected because it had been processed before Mr Grigg had completed it.

Despite the couple preparing to celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary on Friday, the department said they were not “financially connected” to each other because they did not have a joint bank account.

They appealed as soon as possible on December 27, but were told three weeks later that they were six days past the 21-day deadline.

“It’s been a nightmare since December 27 just trying to understand what’s going on,” Ms Grigg said.

‘Everything is so black and white. “You didn’t do this, you didn’t do that.”

“It’s just brick wall after brick wall.”

The Griggs were told they had the right to file an affidavit as to why they should consider their appeal and spend more than $3,500 on getting an immigration agent.

In return, they merely received another sample letter stating that they were late.

“The invitation to make a statement was basically pointless,” Grigg said. ‘The template that came out contained someone else’s data.

“It was just so stressful, we tried to get hold of politicians to see if we could get anywhere.

Ms Grigg said at no point were they able to speak to anyone directly and had to deal with the automated bureaucracy.

The dire situation was particularly difficult for the Grigg children.

“My daughter is very upset,” Mrs Grigg said. ‘She is really afraid that she is going to lose her mother, that is clear.

“She was very up and down and crying at school and everything else.

“It’s been hard for all of us.”

Ms Grigg said if she were forced to leave the family would have to make a “big decision whether to stay or whether we all went back”, as she has been told it takes about 18 months to get a new residency visa in Australia to request.

“It would be a year, a year and a half away from family for me,” Ms Grigg said.

‘I would have a hard time with it. I couldn’t stay separated for so long.’

Mrs Grigg said if she had to return to Scotland she would start all over again.

“It would be a disaster,” Mrs Grigg said. “I should leave, get a job and find a place to live.”

When the family originally moved, it cost about $32,000 to apply for Ms Gigg’s visa, which the children were originally on but are now Australian citizens.

“We don’t have the money to reapply,” Ms Grigg said.

“We paid out professional fees, agent fees and citizenship fees and I basically used up all our savings.”

Since making their plight public, Grigg said they had received overwhelming support.

“It would have been nice if we could have sorted something out without doing that, but I think it was the right decision,” Ms Grigg said.

Her husband is a self-employed gardener, but is ex-RAAF and also worked as a photographer and photography teacher, having only started his own business a year ago.

Ms Grigg said he was still building it up, which meant the family was under financial pressure because of the money they had to spend fighting her deportation.

Ms Grigg said the family felt at home in Adelaide and were avid fans of the Port Adelaide AFL team and the Adelaide 36ers NBL side.

‘I love the sun. When we go back to Scotland it’s always cold, raining and wet,” Grigg said.

Their fate now lies in the hands of Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” Ms Grigg said.

Meanwhile, the Albanian government fears that an upcoming Supreme Court hearing scheduled for April 17 could lead to the court further expanding its controversial NZYQ decision, which could result in another 170 detainees walking free.

The NZYQ decision in November led to 140 asylum seekers, including murderers and rapists, walking free, but seven have since been arrested for breaching visa conditions, while three remain in police custody.