A Glasgow University student was left ‘devastated’ after he was denied a visa to attend his second semester in a series of bureaucratic errors.
Master student Ankit Anand was supposed to travel to Glasgow to complete his studies in robotics after attending the first semester online from India.
However, the Home Office refused his student visa application to attend in-person classes at the University of Glasgow from this month after he paid tens of thousands in fees.
The 25-year-old claimed he followed the correct process and the Home Office made a mistake in calculating his maintenance funds.
As a result, he might have to defer his studies until next year.
READ MORE: SNP urged to fix "shambolic" free youth bus pass scheme as rollout struggles
Ankit said: “The absolutely inhumane and incompetent practices of the Home Office have ruined my academics and mental health.”
He added: “The refusal wouldn't have hurt if I had genuinely made some mistake.
“But I had meticulously checked every detail and made sure that I had included all the required documents.”
The problems started soon after Ankit submitted his application for a priority visa on November 22, expecting to receive a response within five days as indicated.
However, he received a request to provide additional documents, which he had already submitted, without instructions as to where to send them.
Ankit then received a rejection e-mail on December 6, nine days late.
READ MORE: Glasgow nurses ensuring city's homeless population receive their coronavirus jags
The reason stated was a lack of funds but Ankit believes a mistake was made in calculating the fees paid - at £18,000 instead of £23,000 - and consequently the remaining funds.
Hoping to get the decision overturned, Ankit requested a review but he is yet to receive a reply.
In the meantime, the University’s arrival deadline, set for January 15, has passed and the engineering department has refused to extend it, despite an initial offer of help.
“At this point, I feel dumb, helpless, and just lost,” he said “I have spent so much money, much of it belongs to my hard working parents who would like to see me successful.
“They have been as anxious as me, if not more, after the refusal.”
READ MORE: Scots pupils 'humiliating teachers through TikTok and online dating profiles'
A University of Glasgow spokesperson said: “We are deeply sorry for the challenges Ankit has experienced.
“The University is offering some flexibility and extended start dates where possible, to allow students to arrive in Glasgow across Semester 2.
“Students who can’t make the latest possible arrival dates have been advised to temporarily withdraw from studies and re-join at a future point when they are able to travel to Glasgow and complete their studies without the disruption of missing the start of the taught semester.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are currently reviewing Mr. Anand’s case and will be in touch with him as soon as possible.”
READ MORE: More bins and benches needed to fix 'dirty' and 'sad' George Square, residents argue
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here