Filipino chef wins three more years after deportation threat

A filipino chef threatened with deportation has won the first round of his fight to stay in the UK.

Fernando Magat, head chef at the 17-bedroom Inverard Hotel in Aberfoyle, Perthshire, has this week been granted a three-year work permit by the Overseas Labour Service - part of the Department for Education and Employment - subject to Home Office approval.

The decision is a victory for his employers, Caroline and Wilfred Carranza, who have led a high-profile campaign to persuade the authorities to let Mr Magat stay.

The Carranzas have been inundated with support from diners, local villagers, the Scottish media and, more recently, the local tourist board.

However, Mrs Carranza stressed that the fight was not yet over. Mr Magat must still bow to the authorities and leave the country temporarily next month. He plans a trip home after seven uninterrupted years in the UK.

"I think they have to do this to save face, but I'm hoping that they will let him back into the country," said Mrs Carranza. She has requested that the Home Office lift the deportation order altogether and let him make his trip in January instead when her hotel is quieter.

Mrs Carranza, who blames Mr Magat's previous employer for letting his visa expire without his knowledge, claims that without him her hotel is at risk of closing.

Last week's decision came after Mrs Carranza wrote to her local MP, Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth, and persuaded him to ask Education and Employment Secretary Gillian Shephard to look favourably on Mr Magat's case.