HEARTBROKEN bride-to-be Pamela Palmer has been told to get out of Britain after falling foul of immigration laws.
Pamela flew to England for a reunion with fiance Graham Godwin, of Bampton, after a short trip back home to Canada .
But when her plane landed at Gatwick last week, officials told her she had broken the rules by working during a previous stay and booked her on a flight back to Canada - on Valentine's Day.
Witney MP Shaun Woodward managed to win her a week's grace but now she will have to quit Britain on Saturday.
Pamela, 22, from Saskatchewan, met 31-year-old Graham three years ago in a pub in Carterton when she came to England on holiday.
They have spent time together in Canada and since July have lived with Graham's parents Frank and Evelyn,
who run The Jubilee pub in Bampton.
Pamela spent the summer working part-time in pubs and, although she paid tax and insurance, it technically broke the terms of her visitor's visa.
She said: "I thought I could get round it. I am not asking for anything from this country but to be with Graham." She told of the couple's shock as she landed at Gatwick last week.
"Graham was at the airport to meet me and we were questioned for five hours. I was stopped when I got off the plane and immigration officials went through my bag and found a diary with dates when I had worked marked in it."
She added: "I do not intend working again and already have my ticket booked back to Canada in June to get ready for our wedding in July."
Graham, who works for plastics firm Peter Cook International at Broughton Poggs, said: "We are both very upset. As soon as Pamela gets back to Canada, she will apply for a fiance permit and hopefully be back within a month. Until then, we will have to make do with long-distance phone calls."
Graham's mum said: "She just burst into tears when she heard she had a week. We know she once broke the regulations but we promise she will not work in the future and we will take full responsibility for her upkeep."
Mr Woodward said: "I am pleased that I was able to get Miss Palmer an extra week. There is nothing else we can do as there is no statutory right of appeal."
A Home Office spokesman said: "She broke the terms of the visitor's visa, which says that you are not allowed to seek work while in this country. By doing do, she broke the law and had to be sent back to her country.
"What she can do now is apply for a fiance's visa for entry clearance so she can come back into the country.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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