Gamu going

X Factor contestant Gamu Nhengu has been refused the right to remain in the UK following a Home Office investigation, it has been reported.

The singer has apparently been told to return to her home country of Zimbabwe within days after immigration officials discovered that her mother had claimed £16,000 in benefits to which she was not entitled.

Nokutula Ngazana, 38, is said to have claimed child tax credit and working tax credit during her eight-year stay in the UK, even though her visa conditions prohibited her from having access to state handouts.

Nhengu - who was applying to remain in the UK after her family's right to stay expired in August - must now leave Britain of her own accord, along with her mother and her two brothers, or face deportation, according to The Sun.

A UK Border Agency spokeswoman confirmed: "The applications made by Ms Ngazana and her family were considered in line with the published immigration rules.

"Ms Ngazana's application was refused as it did not meet all of the conditions for approval. Skilled workers are not allowed recourse to public funds.

"Her family, who had applied as her dependants, were therefore also refused. Where people are found to have no right to remain in the UK we expect them to leave voluntarily."

Ngazana and Nhengu arrived in Scotland in 2002 and set up home in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, where they still live today. Ngazana studied at Stirling University and qualified as a nurse.

Immigration Minister Damian Green was reportedly consulted on the issue before an official letter was sent to the family.

The news follows speculation that the controversial decision not to pick Nhengu for The X Factor's Top 12 was due to concerns surrounding her visa renewal.