Academic claims Glasgow-born daughter denied visa for entry to UK
A 10-month-old girl has been refused a visa for entry to the UK despite the Home Office being sent a birth certificate showing she was born in Glasgow, her Pakistani father has claimed.
A 10-month-old girl has been refused a visa for entry to the UK despite the Home Office being sent a birth certificate showing she was born in Glasgow, her Pakistani father has claimed.
The PhD student, known only as Arshad, said the certificate shows Umaima Khan was born in the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital on December 6 last year to him and his wife.
Arshad said his wife and daughter are now stranded in Pakistan after visiting family because the Home Office claims his daughter's birth certificate fails to prove she was born in the UK or that he is her father.
The 28-year-old studies electrical engineering at Glasgow Caledonian University and has a tier-four student visa on which he sponsors his wife Lubna as a dependent.
He expected to be able to sponsor his daughter in the same way and has been left devastated by the decision to deny her entry.
He said: "The rejection letter says that the documents do not show that she was born in the UK or that she is related to me, although her passport shows her place of birth as Glasgow and her birth certificate shows she was born here and that I am her father.
"Both the documents are genuine, one was issued by Glasgow City Council and her passport was issued by the High Commission in Pakistan. I don't know how else to prove it.
"Umaima is still in Pakistan with my wife. My wife has a visa but she can't come back because my daughter is only 10 months old and they need to be together.
"They went to Pakistan in February because my parents are there and my wife's parents are there, and Umaima is our first baby, so they were very excited to see her.
"My semester had started so I couldn't travel then because I was teaching here. I went out later for two weeks.
"The initial plan was that they would be there for two months but in March there was bad news for the family because my niece died in a building collapse, so they had to stay for longer.
"I applied for my daughter's visa in June and she and my wife were booked on a return flight to Glasgow on August 2, but they lost the flight because the Home Office rejected my daughter's application.
"It is extremely painful for me living without my wife and an adorable 10-month-old daughter.
"I don't know what else I can do now and I hope that someone can help me."
Arshad said he applied for an administrative review of the decision in August but has yet to hear back from the Home Office.
He said his daughter's last name is different as Pakistan does not have the same tradition of taking the father's surname.
Arshad first arrived in the UK to study for a Master's degree at Strathclyde University in Glasgow in 2012, returning in October 2014 when he was accepted for his PhD.