Mallika Dureja
A group of south-east London locals have vowed to continue their fight after a “valued community member” praised by the late Queen’s representative for his assistance during the COVID pandemic lost his legal immigration battle and now pandya risks deportation to India.
The Rotherhithe Residents organisation garnered almost 177,000 signatures on an online petition in support of Vimal Pandya, who came to the United Kingdom from India on a student visa but was left in limbo after his educational institution lost its sponsorship licence.
The 42-year-old recently lost a hearing before the immigration tribunal and is now reportedly in discussion with his attorneys over his next steps.
“We are heartbroken. He is devastated. But we will not give up the struggle if a solution can be found,” the locals wrote in a petition update on Change.org last week.
“Vimal has always demonstrated his concern for the Rotherhithe community, where he has resided for eleven years. Since so many of us have benefited from his assistance and support over the years, we are trying to prevent his unfair deportation,” they say.
Pandya, who arrived in the United Kingdom from India in 2011 to study, was denied re-entry in April 2014 after returning home to bring a critically ill cousin back to her parents.
More than 120,000 people have signed a petition supporting Vimal Pandya who is fighting deportation 📝
It’s after he was honoured by the Queen for his work as a London shopkeeper during the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/ld0lWLDxTG
— BBC Asian Network (@bbcasiannetwork) February 24, 2022
Officials from the UK Border Force informed him that the college where he was enrolled had lost its sponsorship privilege, but neither the college nor the Home Office had apparently informed him of this.
Without his original passport and other documentation, he was unable to effectively handle the situation. Since then, he has spent tens of thousands of pounds fighting to regularise his immigration status and complete his studies, in addition to tens of thousands of pounds in lost college fees and an ever-growing debt load.
“While waiting for authorization to complete his studies, Vimal has integrated himself into the society of Rotherhithe. Now, he is really important, and we don’t want him to leave,” his local admirers stated.
During the epidemic, Pandya worked as a local shopkeeper and is believed to have devoted “every waking hour” to ensuring that individuals in self-isolation during the national lockdown received regular food and vital supplies.
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Sir Kenneth Olisa, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London, wrote to him in February of last year, on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, to express gratitude for his exceptional contributions in the community.
A resident told ‘Southwark News’, “Everything has passed through the legal boundaries and we should respect the country’s decision, but… if someone has done so much to the country and been honoured by the Queen, I don’t see why they should be moved.”
Neil Coyle, the member of Parliament for Bermondsey and Old Southwark in London, spoke eloquently in support of Pandya during a recent hearing, but the judge stated that the tribunal was bound by “the laws that are written rather than the opinion of one MP.”
