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An international student traveling to the UK to take up a university scholarship was detained at the border and held in custody for 12 days after being unable to answer detailed questions about his course.
Sulav Khadka said he felt he was “treated like a criminal” by Border Force officials, who accused him of being a fake student after he landed at Manchester Airport in October. The 23-year-old from Nepal had a valid visa, proof of his university place and papers showing he had paid his first-year fees in full. But, upon arrival in the UK, he was interrogated about the intricate details of his course, asking to list the titles of the six modules he would study.
After 16 hours of travel and not yet starting the degree, he could only name two. He was also asked the name of the examination institute which would give his qualification but he did not know. That and the fact that a letter from his bank in Nepal contained a spelling error led Border Force officials to conclude that he wanted to evade immigration controls, was not actually a student and had “little interest” in his course, according to the documents. Seen by the observer.
Khadka was then transferred to an immigration removal center in Scotland and told he would be deported. Even after the university’s admissions office provided documents proving that he had a place in the course, and confirmed that he had paid the course fee, he was held up for another 10 days, he claimed.
He was eventually released by the Home Office, which apologized that it had “carefully reviewed” his case and that a mistake had been made. But by the time he realized his mistake, Khadka had missed the cut off to get into his university. When he arrived at his university campus in York on 24 October, he was told that he had passed the late registration deadline by a week and that his sponsorship had been withdrawn so he would have to return next year. Faced with thousands of pounds borrowed to cover flights, fees and relocation costs, and returning home in debt with no clear path to staying in the UK, faces are now in limbo.
“I was treated like a criminal but I did nothing wrong. I could not understand why he detained me. They gave me many reasons but I could justify every reason they gave me,” said Khadka. “I showed them my documents and they even called my university. I had all the papers, but they didn’t believe me. This will have a big impact on my future.
The experience of detention, threat of deportation and being blocked from his studies has been traumatic for Khadka, who was the first in his family to study abroad. He says he cried every night while waiting to learn his fate in detention.
For him, the offer of a place studying hospitality and tourism at York St John University was an opportunity to change his family’s future. He hoped to return to Nepal to work in the country’s growing tourism industry after completing the £13,000-a-year course, for which he received a partial scholarship.
The day he left Nepal, October 11, his family and friends gathered at Kathmandu’s airport, gave him an orange scarf for good luck and posed for photos next to him smiling proudly. On Facebook, friends and relatives sent him dozens of messages wishing him a safe flight, filled with love hearts and airplane emojis.
Having been blocked from taking up his studies, he couldn’t bear to tell them what happened at first. “I was very excited to study in the UK. I lied to them initially because I didn’t want them to worry about me,” he said.
It also raises questions about why he was detained and will raise fears of increasingly hostile treatment for international students. It comes amid reports that the government wants to curb immigration figures by reducing the number of international students, a plan described as “absolutely cruel” by the National Union of Students.
Fiza Qureshi, chief executive of the Migrants’ Rights Network, described the case as a “truly horrific situation” that shows how “hostile environmental policies are embedded in the education system”.
Campaign group Unis Resist Border Controls said it had provided support to some students who were victims of “tough immigration questioning at the border”.
“And this level of harassment is even more pronounced if you are ethnic or come from countries in the Global South,” said a spokesperson for the group.
Another student who arrived in the UK last month said he was also questioned at the airport. “The officer first asked about my university details and, after that, most of the questions were related to my finances, even though I had provided all the financial proof while applying for my visa,” he said. “Apart from us, there were some Pakistani students who were kept in separate places so that they could not show up [their] Bank balance in mobile application. God knows what happened to them.
As well as asking Khadka to list the modules in his syllabus, the Border Force accused him of having forged documents, citing a spelling error in a letter from his bank in Nepal as evidence, adding that it was “inconceivable” that such a “reputable financial institution” would will issue documents of dangerous quality. Almost immediately, the Border Force letter itself makes several spelling errors. “You have little [sic] Knowledge of your purpose [sic] course and so I have come to the conclusion that you have little or no interest in it,” he says, misspelling “little” and “suggested”.
Further, he showed discrepancy regarding the amount paid by Khadka. While he said he had paid £9,250 before his arrival, the Border Force letter says the university admissions office claimed he had only paid £6,616. A spokesman for York St John’s University denied false information had been provided to Border Force and said Khadka had given a “standard response” to questions about whether he had paid 50% of his first year’s fees – the minimum amount required to secure his place. .
He then provided documents supporting Khadka’s account but said that, even after sending these, he was detained for another 10 days.
Asked why the university did not keep Khadka’s place open for them under the extraordinary circumstances, the spokesperson said all non-registrations were required to be reported to the government on October 17. “As of this date, Sulav was still detained in the holding facility and we understood that he was being returned to Nepal,” she said. She added that starting the course late was “not in the interest of the students”.
In an email sent to Khadka after requesting his help, the university said it could not change the decision and advised him to “return to Nepal as soon as possible” so that he “does not run the risk of investing more when your visa is reduced”. He also offered to pay his visa application fee for September 2023 inspector, The university said it has since offered to help with travel expenses and temporary accommodation, as well as tuition-fee refunds, but Khadka has yet to accept this.
The Home Office was asked detailed questions about Khadka’s case, but did not respond, saying it does not regularly comment on individual cases. A spokesman said: “We have an important role to play in keeping the UK and its citizens safe. Border Force’s priority is to maintain a secure border and we will not compromise on security. When the the observer Pointing out that Khadka had never posed a security threat, the spokesman said: “Thank you for your questions, however this is our statement.”
Universities UK said the case was “extremely concerning”, adding: “International students are a huge asset to the UK. They should feel safe, secure and welcome.”
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