PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA - A Malaysian transsexual, who married a 30-year-old man in Britain, might be deported back to Malaysia after his Leave To Remain visa was rejected by British authorities over an 'incorrect' photograph.

Mohammed Fazdil Min Bahari or Fatine, 36, recently married property maintenance company owner Ian Young in a civil partnership but was denied his visa in September on grounds that his passport contained an incorrect photograph.

A report in The Sun newspaper in London said Fatine, a make-up artist, was told to go back to Malaysia after his second application was rejected as his visitor visa had expired.

Young was quoted as saying that he could not accept the reasons given for each refusal of the applications.

'Our local MP even got in touch with the Home Office but they won't budge. They say Fatine has to return to Malaysia, which is something we wouldn't be able to do as a couple. Over there, we would face imprisonment just for living together,' he said.

'We feel desperate. Our options are quickly running out. Fatine can re-apply from Malaysia but who knows how long that would take, or if it would even be accepted,' Young added.

He said he and Fatine may be different from other couples but they loved each other and being forced apart was their 'worst nightmare'.

'It doesn't matter to me that she is a transsexual. It's the person she is inside that I care about and love. I can't contemplate the idea of us not being together.

'I look at her and see a beautiful woman,' said Young, who first met Fatine in a Starbucks outlet at the Petronas Twin Towers in August 2006 when he was working as a security officer in Malaysia.

He had asked Fatine if he could take the seat next to her.

'We started talking and I was immediately impressed by how good her English was. When she got up to leave, I asked for her number,' he said.

Fatine then told him that he was a transsexual but Young was not put off and wanted to meet him again even if it was for friendship.

The couple met several times after that and their feelings soon blossomed into love.

In December last year, Young arranged for Fatine to travel to Britain on a visitor's visa but after a month's stay there, the couple applied to the Home Office for a Certificate of Approval to Marry.

The couple then proceeded with a civil partnership, which they hoped would help Fatine in securing a permanent visa.

Head of Immigration for the UK Border Agency, Matthew Coats, said Fatine had entered Britain as a visitor.

'The rules are clear that a visitor must leave the UK within six months but may reapply for a new visa from their country of origin,' he reportedly said.