The 23-year-old from Nepal had a valid visa, proof of admission and documentation showing he had paid his first year’s fees. Still, after his arrival at Manchester airport in October, he was accused of being a fake student and interrogated by the Border Force officers.
The interrogation included listing the titles of the six modules he would be studying and naming the exam body that would award his qualification. After a 16-hour journey and having not yet started the course, Khadka provided only two names of the modules and did not know the name of the exam body.
Based on his answers and the fact that a letter from his bank in Nepal contained a spelling mistake, the Border Force officers concluded that Khadka was not really a student because he had “little interest” in his course. They accused him of trying to avoid immigration controls and transferred him to an immigration removal centre in Scotland.
They accused him of trying to avoid immigration controls and transferred him to an immigration removal centre
The university’s admissions office sent documents proving that Khadka had a place on the course, and confirming that he had paid the course fees, as he claimed. Despite all the provided documents, he was held in the immigration removal centre for further 10 days.
“I was treated like a criminal, but I did nothing wrong. I showed them my documents and they even called my university. I had all the papers, but they didn’t believe me,” Khadka said.
"I was treated like a criminal, but I did nothing wrong"
After his release, Khadka received an apology letter from the Home Office saying it had “carefully reviewed” his case and that an error had been made. But by that time, Khadka had missed the deadline for enrolling in his university and his partial scholarship had been withdrawn. Khadka will have to fly back home, after borrowing thousands of pounds for travel and fees expenses.
The university’s answer to the question why it had not held Khadka’s place open for him in the exceptional circumstances, the spokeswoman said that it had to report all non-enrolments to the government on 17 October. “On this date, Sulav was still in detention in a holding facility and we understood that he was being returned to Nepal,” she said.
The university offered to pay for his visa application fees for September 2023 and to help with travel costs and temporary accommodation, as well as a tuition-fee refund, but that Khadka had not yet accepted this.
The Home Office's spokesperson said: “We have a crucial role 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.” After being reminded that Khadka had never posed a security threat, the spokesperson replied: “Thank you for your questions, however this is our statement.”