Sofia facing deportation in visa mix-up
STUDENT FALLS FOUL OF BUREAUCRATIC CONFUSION
A NOTTINGHAM Trent University international student has been told she must leave the country after a visa mix-up.
Sofia Navarro, from Santiago in Chile, is in Nottingham to study global studies and philosophy.
The 19-year-old first-year student arrived in September last year, and is living at the university’s Clifton campus.
But her visa application was delayed by the pandemic.
Sofia was waiting for her biometrics test on April 12 when she was phoned and told her application had been rejected – as she had not completed the test.
But she says the email containing her test didn’t appear in her inbox and that she only later found it as it was titled “Sheffieldstudentteams”.
As she is a Nottingham Trent University student, she said that she wouldn’t have opened it even if she had seen it with that heading.
In a biometrics test, visa applicants provide a photo and their fingerprints.
“It’s really upsetting,” Sofia said. “Especially because of the way it was done.
“I was given no other option, I was given no support – they simply washed their hands of me. I love it here – I don’t want to leave.
“They then told me that because of the rules in place they will still charge me my full fees for the year.”
Sofia and her family have already paid £14,500 for the 2021 academic year – which she claims will not be refunded if she is forced to leave the country.
She has been told she must leave the country by Tuesday and return to Chile before reapplying in Santiago rather than in Nottingham.
Sofia says she was in contact with the university on March 10 – 19 days before her visa was rejected, and two days after the test was emailed – to check if she needed to do anything with regards to her application.
She says her visa application was officially rejected on March 29 – but she was not told until the April 12 phone call.
To make matters worse, she had all the necessary information ready and waiting for her test – she only needed to input it.
She continued: “I was notified so much later about it, so I had half the time to get everything sorted.
“From when they told me, I had already been rejected for 12 days.
“I have been in the UK for five years. I went to boarding school in Hertfordshire in 2016 before coming to university.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We aim to process all visa applications as quickly as possible.
“In this case, we sent the customer a reminder to enrol their biometrics, with the visa clearly referenced in the subject, and outlined what would happen if biometrics were not enrolled.
“We sent a further email reminder last month and still received no response, therefore the application was rejected.”
The Home Office says it will work with Sofia on the appropriate next steps she needs to take.
A spokesperson for Nottingham Trent University said: “This is a decision which has been taken by United Kingdom Visas and Immigration in line with its standard process.
“We are in contact with them and continuing to support Sofia with her case.”