Home Office tell 83 year-old Chilean dad in Glasgow to go home to...Nigeria

Mr Giesen has strong links to Glasgow stretching back more than 40 years, having resided here from 1975 to 1986 as a political refugee during the General Augusto Pinochet regime.

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While here he met and married his late wife, Jean and adopted their daughter Myriam.

Despite travelling from South America to Europe last year and spending most of the last five years between Scotland and Chile he has been told by the Home Office he should go back to Africa.

The Glasgow Times reported how, in a written decision, the Home Office refused the application and told Mr Giesen “You should have prepared yourself for the possibility of return to Nigeria”.

The Home Office said it was a “mistake” but Ms Giesen believes it to be a symptom of lack of attention being paid to decisions that seriously affect people’s lives.

Mr Geisen’s daughter and his lawyer believe the section citing Nigeria has been “cut and pasted” from another refusal to a different applicant and is evidence the claim has not been given proper consideration.

The Home Office also said Mr Giesen has been resident in Chile for 82 years, despite him having lived in the UK for 11 years.

It also states, “you have indicated that you could be in danger of detention and torture due to the current state of affairs back in your country of origin, Chile”.

But no fear of torture or detention was raised and the only grounds for applying for leave to remain is on the basis of his relationship with his daughter and due to having no family or friends in Chile, except a grandson who is unable to commit to caring due to work.

Carlos Giesen Martinez met daughter Myriam's mother Jean after fleeing Chile for Scotland during the brutal Pinochet regime.

The reason for the application is on compassionate grounds that he is not capable of caring for himself entirely in Chile.

The application was made on the grounds of “obstacles he would face reintegrating to life in Chile”.

It has been submitted that removing him would be a breach of his human rights and be disproportionate in the circumstances,”resulting in unjustifiably harsh consequences for both himself and his family”.

The application also stated Ms Giesen has sufficient income to support her father without recourse to public funds.

Myriam said: “I am the only person who can take care of him. There is no support for him in Chile.

“We are not asking for any other benefits other than for him not to be deported.”

In the 1970s after the Pinochet coup, Mr Giesen was detained for 11 months and tortured. He escaped to Argentina and then applied for refugee status to the UK.

He was one of hundreds of thousands who were forced to flee persecution and torture, and one of around 500 Chileans who came to Scotland.

He gained a masters degree in Literature at Glasgow University and returned to Chile in 1986.

Mr Giesen met Myriam’s mother, Jean, in 1980 and they married in 1983.

Jean died in 2012 and for the following three years he spend half the year in Chile and half in Scotland. Myriam lived in Chile.

Following recent unrest in Chile, Myriam and her husband moved back to Scotland with her father in June 2018. In December her father moved back to Chile but she said he was unable to care for himself properly.

Mr Giesen came to Scotland in June last year and the family decided to apply for further leave to remain.

The Home Office said they have no record of him entering the country then but Ms Giesen said his passport is stamped on leaving Chile and records will show he travelled to Scotland.

She is a British citizen and had permanent residency in Chile when she lived there.

The family’s solicitor dealing with the case said it is “the most staggering refusal” he has known.

He is concerned about the reference to Nigeria and the claim he has been resident in Chile for 82 years.

Joseph Rasmussen, of Jones Whyte, said: “My concern is it is evident they have not considered the application in its entirety.

“He was previously resident here for a considerable period of time.”

Mr Rasmussen said the refusal is dismissive of the human element to the case

He added: “The mention of Nigeria reinforces the presumption that they haven’t considered it fully.”

The family are now preparing to appeal the decision later this month

The Home Office said Mr Giesen does not meet the requirements to be allowed to stay.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “All immigration cases are carefully considered before a decision is made.

“Mr Martinez’s application was refused as he was not able to demonstrate that he met the requirements for leave on the basis of his private life.”

The spokeswoman added: “The mention of Nigeria in Mr Martinez’s letter was a mistake” and added he has the right to appeal against the refusal of his application.

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It is not the first time the Home Office has cited the wrong country of origin in immigration cases leading to suspicions that decisions are being ‘copied and pasted’ from others.

Last year a man who was caring for his terminally ill partner was told he faces deportation from the UK to Jamaica after the Home Office said in a refusal letter that he “failed to demonstrate his life would be at risk in Iraq”.

The man, O’Neil Wallfall had never been to Iraq but received the refusal letter suggesting his case had been confused with another.