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But last June, after the business had finally “come into its own” their application was rejected. The Home Office awarded them just two points and refused to read any of the letters because they were printed “on the wrong form,” Jason said.

“I can understand why you need guidelines, why you need standards and a framework to work with, but that’s the point: as human beings, we get to work with it,” Jason said. But the Home Office has refused to consider the unique situation in the Highlands, and no one from the department has ever visited the shop to assess the couple’s investment, he said.

“We took a gamble and did it all in good faith,” Jason said, but the Home Office “went out of their way to make us look worse than we were.”

The couple poured about 240,000 pounds ($445,000) — more than the required 200,000 pounds — into the purchase of the business and renovations, but the Home Office refused to count the money that went towards the holiday rental side. An official deemed that it did not qualify under the visa, although Jason says that earlier he was told by the Home Office that it was a valid investment.

The Home Office also claimed that the couple failed to submit proof of self-employment and tax returns with their application, something the couple denies. But the Home Office has also confirmed in a letter that official documents submitted with their application — including tax returns, Jason’s Canadian ID, birth and marriage certificates — have gone missing.

After “extensive searches” staff have been unable to find seven different original documents, the Home Office said in a letter, according to a statement issued by Hendry.

“This is absolutely unbelievable — the future of a hard working Highland family is quite literally hanging in the balance and not only have their original documents which they entrusted to the Home Office been lost but now a significant reason for their visa being refused has been thrown into question,” the MP said.

Hendry has advocated on behalf of the family since he was elected last May. He raised their case with the prime minister in Question time on April 27 and David Cameron promised to look into the matter. Instead he just referred it back to the Home Office, Hendry said.