NEW DELHI: An Indian historian is facing deportation from the UK after the Home Office ruled that her research trips to India exceeded the allowed number of days abroad.
Dr Manikarnika Dutta, 37, has lived in the UK for 12 years. She has worked at leading institutions such as the University of Oxford and the University of Bristol. Despite her academic achievements, she has been denied indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
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The Home Office rejected her ILR application because Dutta spent 691 days outside the UK over a 10-year period. The limit for ILR applicants is 548 days. Her trips were necessary for her research, which required access to historical archives in India.
โThese research trips were not optional but essential to fulfilling her academic and institutional obligations,โ said Naga Kandiah, her lawyer from MTC Solicitors. โHad she not undertaken these trips, she would not have been able to complete her thesis or meet the academic requirements of her institutions.โ
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Dutta moved to the UK in 2012 to study at the University of Oxford. She later switched to a spouse visa after marrying Souvik Naha, a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow. Nahaโs ILR application was approved, but Duttaโs was denied.
โI was shocked when I got an email saying I have to leave,โ Dutta said. โI have lived here for 12 years. A large part of my adult life has been spent here since I came to Oxford for my masterโs. I never thought something like this would happen to me.โ
Her husband described the ordeal as โterribly stressful.โ He said, โI sometimes give lectures about these issues and have read articles about people affected, but never thought it would happen to us.โ
The Home Office stated that Dutta must leave the UK voluntarily or face a 10-year re-entry ban. Despite her lawyerโs appeal, the Home Office upheld its decision in an administrative review.
Kandiah has now filed a legal challenge. The Home Office has agreed to reconsider the case within three months but has not guaranteed a change in the decision.
โMy clientโs case exemplifies how such situations severely undermine the UKโs reputation and its ability to attract and retain global academic talent,โ Kandiah said. โIf the UK genuinely seeks to position itself as a global leader in academia and innovation, it must foster an environment that is welcoming to top talent.โ
