Indian thanked queen now faces deportation

Indian thanked queen now faces deportation 

• London: A residents' group from south-east London has pledged to fight on after a "beloved community member" lauded by the late Queen's representative for his services over the Covid pandemic lost a legal visa battle and now faces deportation to India.

• The Rotherhithe Residents group have gathered over 177,000 sig- natures through an on- line petition in support of Vimal Pandya, who came to the UK from India on a student visa but was left in limbo after his education institution lost its licence to sponsor foreign students.

• The 42-year-old lost a hearing at the immigration tribunal recently and is now said to be in talks with his lawyers for a way forward.

• Having arrived in the UK from India in 2011 to study, Pandya was refused reentry following a return home in April 2014 to take a seriously ill relative back to her parents.

• UK Border Force officials informed him that the college at which he was enrolled had lost its right to sponsorship, but neither the college nor the Home Office had reportedly informed him of this.

• During the pandemic, Pandya was employed as a local shopkeeper and is said to have worked tirelessly by dedicating "every waking hour" to ensure those in self-isolation during the national lockdown received regular food and essential supplies.