Scottish couple face deportation from Australia

A DUNDEE couple are facing deportation from Australia after settling in a Queensland suburb which violated their visa restrictions.

George and Lana Breen had a visa which required them to live in a regional area but they accidentally moved to a suburb which they found out was designated as being in a city zone.

They have lived in Australia for five years but are due to be deported on March 7 having lost an appeal at the Migration Review Tribunal.

The couple, who live in Brisbane, are reported to have only found out that they were living the wrong zone when they applied for permanent residency two years ago.

They received their visa under a government scheme to encourage migrants to move to rural areas however the pair settled 2.5 miles from the suburb in which they were supposed to live.

Bricklayer Mr Breen said: “We’ve made an awful lot of friends here and to be sent home I think is a bit of a disgrace.

“We work hard, we’ve put in a lot of money, we’ve set up home here, we’ve got vehicles and this is a home.”

A spokesman for the Immigration Department said: “Their particular visa applies to those working and residing in regional Australia and of course regional Australia is determined in our case by postcodes.”