A Dover solicitor is fighting to stop her disabled mother being deported.

Siu Hua Teo, 75, from Singapore, is unable to walk unaided and is being cared for by her daughter in Dover, but the Home Office says new rules mean she cannot stay.

Li Goh-Piper has raised an online petition, which had collected 603 names by Tuesday.

It was sent to Theresa May last week while the new Prime Minister was still Home Secretary.

Mrs Goh-Piper, 46, of Woods Place, Buckland, Dover, said: “My mother is at risk of being detained and removed to Singapore, where she has nobody who is willing or able to look after her.

“She is financially independent and has not claimed any benefits since her arrival to the UK.”

Mrs Goh-Piper added that moving her mother back to Singapore would “tear the family apart” and leave them heartbroken.

Mrs Teo arrived in the UK in March 2015 and since then has lived with Mrs Goh-Piper and Mrs Goh-Piper’s British husband James Piper, 54. Mrs Goh-Piper works full-time and says her job as a solicitor means she is financially able to help take care of all the family.

Mrs Teo suffers from chronic back pain from spinal fractures she suffered late in 2014.

She is osteopenic, usually a pre-condition to osteoporosis, the weakening of bones.

She also has osteoarthritis in both her knees, which causes weakness in her legs, and is prone to falling. Mrs Teo is unable to care or cook for herself and Mrs Goh-Piper and her husband look after her.

Mrs Goh-Piper said: “I wish to have the opportunity to provide love, care and support for my aged mother in her twilight years.”

Mrs Goh-Piper settled in the UK as a permanent resident in February 2003 after she married.

But she says the Home Office has refused Mrs Teo leave to remain in the UK. The petition explains that the present immigration rules on adult dependant relatives, introduced in 2012, make it almost impossible for British citizens and permanent UK residents to bring their elderly parents to live with them in the UK, even in their declining years.

The new Adult Dependant Relative Rules mean adult children would have to leave the UK to care for their parents.

In addition the Immigration Act 2016 came into force on May 12, has a “deport first, appeal later” scheme for all migrants.

This was originally for convicted foreign criminals and those the Home Secretary felt should be removed for the UK’s well-being.

But now it means that any migrant can be sent back to their country pending the outcome of their appeal against a decision to remove them.

Exceptions are when removal could cause the migrant “serious, irreversible harm.”

Mrs Goh-Piper said: “Those who want to do the right thing and abide by the law using the correct procedures and channels have to now deal with the wedge this immigration rule drives between them.

“It breaks up families, leads to unspeakable heartache and undermines the very essence of family values.”

Mrs Goh-Piper’s petition calls on the UK government to

• Grant Siu Hua Teo leave to remain in the UK for life with her daughter.
• Repeal the amended immigration rule on adult dependent relatives which came into force in July 2012 and revert to the previous rule, which allowed British national and other settled persons to be joined by parents and grandparents aged over 65.

This is if they can be accommodated and financially supported by their family rather than state handouts.

The petition was originally sent to Theresa May on June 24, long before it was known she would become Prime Minister.

It gained 250 names in the first two days.

Originally the Home Office wanted Mrs Teo to leave by June 29 but Mrs Goh-Piper has bought time by appealing through a mechanism called a Pre-Action Protocol Letter for Judicial Review.

The Home Office has to reply to that by next Tuesday Jul 19.

The petition also went to Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke.

He said: “It’s important the Home Office check carefully whether people have a right to be in the UK.

“Many people complain to me we are a soft touch for health tourism so it’s important the Home Office make sure it’s not that kind of case.”

A Home Office spokesman said:“All applications are considered on their individual merits, including any exceptional or compassionate circumstances, and in accordance with the immigration rules.”