THE owners of a town centre coffee shop forced to leave the country after falling foul of immigration laws finished their last shift on Thursday.

In May the Home Office rejected Melbourne-born Darkroom Espresso co-owner Jacky Collyer’s last appeal to stay in the country, and the 27-year-old and her British husband, 28-year-old Andy Carter, began making plans to leave.

The Home Office has ordered her to leave or face deportation, because they do not meet the minimum income threshold for sponsoring a non-EU spouse.

A week before the couple, who married in 2013 after Jacky moved to the UK in 2011, opened the popular Faringdon Road coffee house last August , Jacky received a letter from the On advice from an immigration lawyer, Jacky wrote to the Home Office requesting permission to appeal the decision, and after this was rejected she decided to appeal to an even higher authority – the Upper Tribunal - to buy the couple another six to 10 weeks waiting for a response to prepare for their futures.

After handing over the business to friends and fellow business owners, Will Davies and ArthurVissing, of Oxford-based coffee house Brew, Jacky and Andy are booking flights to Copenhagen, Denmark.

“We’re hoping to move out by the end of the month, and we expect we’ll be gone before we receive the notice,” said Andy.

“We’ve put the word out there that we’re around and are just hoping we’ll be able to find work.

“It’s just gone from the upheaval of setting up your own business to the greater one of having to leave the country and go somewhere where you’ve never been before.

“We’re just grateful the business will still be operating, that would have been truly heartbreaking to have to tear that down as well.

“I’m very angry about it. The whole thing has been demoralising to the extent I’m not sure we’d want to stay here any way even if we could.”

“I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported us,” said Andy.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of people who supported the business in Swindon, showing there is a place for it here, let alone behind us personally.”

While Denmark remains the couple’s favourite destination it depends on their ability to find work.

“In Denmark they have quite a lot of places in the specialist coffee industry, and the wages are higher than in the UK," said Andy.

“They also offer financial incentives to people who want to learn the language, which feels a lot more welcoming than the experience we’ve had here in the UK.”

The couple fell foul of a UK immigration law which came into effect in 2012, which meant Jacky had to earn £18,600 to stay in the country.

, and after weighing up their options decided to move somewhere in Europe.

“The ridiculous thing is we could go to another EU country, like Germany, France or Ireland for example, and stay there for a minimum of three months,” said Jacky.

“Andy would have to work there but after a minimum of three months if we then came to the UK we would be considered under EU law and come back under the freedom of movement laws. As a family member to Andy I would be entitled to the same rights and be able to stay.”

Earlier this year a Home Office spokesman said: “All applications are considered on their merits and in line with immigration rules.

“We welcome those who wish to make a life in the UK with their family, work hard and make a contribution. But family life must not be established here at the taxpayer’s expense. That is why we implemented the recommendations of the Independent Migration Advisory Committee and established rules for British citizens looking to bring their non-EU spouse to this country.

including a minimum income threshold.”