Wednesday 18th December marked the International Migrants Day as observed by the Un Member States. Whilst, #LondonIsOpen has been the message propagated by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, the UK under the Tory Government has been embroiled in a series of controversies with regards to its hostile environment policy formed when Theresa May was the country's Home Secretary. Amidst such controversies was the refusal of right to indefinite stay to academic Asiya Islam.
Islam completed her PhD titled ‘Gender, Class, and Labour in the New Economy of Urban India’ from the University of Cambridge and won a junior research fellowship at Newnham College. Islam, who won the Zakir Hussain Medal for Academic Excellence at the Aligarh Muslim University, was denied the status of indefinite stay on the ground that she spent a period in New Delhi as part of her PhD research, which went beyond the permissible number of days. Now, 2000 academics including eminent professors, on Monday petitioned home secretary Priti Patel to reconsider the Home Office decision to reject permission to Asiya Islam. The petition signed by the academics points out that under guidelines published on October 1, 2019, the time abroad can be waived for Tier 2 visa holders in PhD level occupations when they are absent from the UK for research purposes.
Islam’s case has highlighted how the Home Office has been refusing international academics permission to stay, among those of others, reinforcing the perception that despite claims that Britain welcomes talent from across the globe, the reality is different.
Islam tweeted: “Let’s hold our elected govt to account. Today I’ve sent the open letter with 2000+ signatures, inc 183 eminent profs, to @patel4witham calling for reconsideration of my case. Will the @ukhomeoffice take notice or continue #HostileEnvironment against us?”
