'We will never see them again': Fears for elderly Iranian couple as Home Office refuses to let them remain in UK

'They just want to be with their family'

The couple with their grandson (Navid Saberi)

An elderly Iranian couple have been refused leave to remain in Britain, despite having four children, 11 grandchildren and a great-grandchild who are all British citizens.

83-year-old Mozaffar Saberi and 73-year-old Rezvan Habibimarand bought a flat in Edinburgh in the late 1970s and have spent time in the UK on visitor visas ever since.

The couple also help to care for their severely autistic grandson in order to help their daughter, an NHS nurse who is a single mother.

After a visit in 2012 Mr Saberi and Ms Habibimarand applied to stay in Britain on human rights grounds.

That application and a second subsequent one were both rejected by the Home Office.

The couple have a large British family (Navid Saberi)

The couple are now appealing the decision, with the case due to be heard in the Home Office appeals system on 25 February.

“It is very very stressful,” said Navid Saberi, the pair’s son.

“They are elderly and not really keeping well and on top of their health problems.

“It is a psychological effect, not knowing what is around the corner and what is going to happen in the future.

“The prospect of leaving three generations of children, grandchildren and a great-grandchild and going back to Iran has not been easy for them.”

The couple (7th and 8th from right) at a family wedding (Navid Saberi)

He added: “They have got nobody in Iran. It is just beyond belief.”

Mr Saberi also said that his parents had a strong emotional bond with their grandson and that could have a detrimental effect on him if they have to leave the country.

John Vassiliou, partner at McGill & Co which is handling the case, said: “Mr Saberi is in his 80s, his wife is in her 70s. If they go back to Iran it’s difficult for British citizens to visit Iran, they can’t just fly over as if they were going to Spain or France.”

The couple (7th and 8th from right) at a family wedding (Navid Saberi)

“They are showing lots of signs of old age physically and mentally and they just want to be with their family,” he added.

“If they go back to Iran they will be two old people living alone whereas here they are living in Edinburgh with all their family around them.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “All UK visa applications are considered on their individual merits, on the basis of the evidence available and in line with UK immigration rules.”

Ian Murray, Labour MP for Edinburgh South, has voiced his support for the family.

He tweeted: “I’m working with the family & their lawyers to try & persuade the Home Secretary to do the decent thing.”

More than 3,000 people have also signed a petition on change.org calling on the Home Office to allow the couple to stay in the UK, which was set up by the couple’s grandaughter Tanya Kinnear.

“This is our family,” she wrote.

“We depend on them and they depend on us. If they are deported, we will never see them again.”

Additional reporting by agencies