UK Home Office denies Dr. Manikarnika Dutta’s residency due to her extended research stay in India
An Indian-origin scholar at Oxford University, Dr. Manikarnika Dutta, is facing deportation from the UK after the Home Office ruled that she had exceeded the permitted time abroad while conducting research in India, reported gujaratsamachar.com.
Academic Research Leads to Visa Violation
Dr. Dutta, a Research Associate at Oxford’s Faculty of History, Centre for the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, first moved to the UK in 2012 for a Master’s degree at Oxford. She later secured a spouse visa as the dependent of her husband, Souvik Naha, a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow.
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Under UK immigration rules, applicants for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) must not spend more than 548 days abroad over a ten-year period
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However, Dr. Dutta reportedly spent 691 days in India for archival research, exceeding the limit
Legal Battle Against Deportation
Her lawyer, Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors, has argued that these research trips were essential for fulfilling her academic and institutional obligations. Without them, she would have been unable to complete her thesis or meet the requirements of her institution.
Despite these justifications, the Home Office rejected her ILR application, stating:
“You must now leave the United Kingdom. If you don’t leave voluntarily, you may be subject to a 10-year re-entry ban and prosecuted for overstaying.”
Dr. Dutta’s case has raised concerns in the academic community, with many questioning the impact of UK immigration policies on international researchers and scholars.
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