Orphaned boy told he can stay in UK permanently

A 13-year-old boy who faced deportation from Glasgow to Georgia after being orphaned has been told he can stay in the UK permanently.

Giorgi Kakava moved to Scotland with his mother Sophie when he was three, after his father was killed.

When his mother died three years ago, Giorgi faced being sent back but was granted temporary asylum.

While he has been told he can now stay indefinitely, his grandmother has only been given 30 months leave to remain.

Giorgi, who is in second year at Springburn Academy, said he felt a "big weight" had been lifted from his shoulders, but he was sad that his grandmother still faced an uncertain future.

He said: "It is good news because Glasgow is my home, I feel Scottish and if I got moved to Georgia it would be tough to cope without all my friends.

"But the decision is very unfair on my nan because we are very close and I do not know what I would do if she was sent away."

The family's case was taken up by Rev Brian Casey, the minister at Springburn Parish Church in Glasgow, who gathered more than 92,000 signatures via an online petition.

Politicians raised the case both at Holyrood and Westminster before then prime minister, Theresa May, ordered a Home Office review and Giorgi was granted temporary asylum to complete his education in Scotland.

His grandmother Ketino Baikhadze said she was "very happy" he could now remain permanently, and was pragmatic about her own situation.

"I live for Giorgi and as long as he is fine, I am fine as well," she said.

"It is great news that he has been granted permanent residency and I would also like to thank everyone who has supported and helped us."

Mr Casey said he was glad that Giorgi would now have the chance to live the life of a normal teenager without the threat of deportation hanging over him.

He said: "It has been a long fight but it would have been criminal to send him back to a country that he doesn't know where he could be in danger.

"But it does seem wrong that his gran, who is his guardian, will have to go through this whole protracted process again when he is 15 and still a minor.

"So, as we move forward we will have to keep an eye on that because it would be a travesty if they are split up."

Mr Casey learned of Giorgi's situation when he was a chaplain of his primary school, and was asked to conduct the funeral of his mother Sophio.

He arranged for a tree to be planted in the church garden to give Giorgi a place to remember his mother, as her body was repatriated to Georgia for burial.