A Singaporean woman married to a British man for 27 years has been deported back to her origin country.

Irene Clennel was being held in a Scottish detention center, but she has been sent back to Singapore without any warning.

Mrs. Clennel is a resident of Durham, living with her husband. She had two British sons, as well as a granddaughter, in the UK.

The Home Office authorities said that it did not comment on individual cases.

Mrs. Clennel was put in a van and was taken to the airport from the Dungavel Detention Centre in South Lanarkshire on Saturday (25th Feb).

She had been held at the Detention Centre since the beginning of this month.

She said to the media that she was not permitted to contact her lawyer and did not have the chance to get any clothes from her home.

After her marriage, Mrs. Clennel was given indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

But the period she spent back in Singapore in taking care of her elderly parents appear to have invalidated her residential status in the UK.

Mrs. Clennel said that she made repeated attempts in both the countries to re-apply for permission to live with her husband.

She said to reporters that her husband is in poor health condition and she is the principal care taker.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said “All applications for leave to remain in the UK are considered on their individual merits and in line with the immigration rules.

"We expect those with no legal right to remain in the country to leave."

A campaign has been started by the “Charity Migrant Voice” to bring Mrs. Clennel back to Britain.

“Yet another example of how arbitrary policies tear apart families and ruin lives", said Director Nazek Ramadan.

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