In June 2023, Muhammad, a University of Stirling postgraduate student was arrested and detained by immigration officers in his place of work.
He is accused of breaching the conditions of his visa by working more than the legally permitted 20 hours per week. He is currently being held at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre, where he has been detained for over seven weeks now, and has had his visa cancelled.
The student has asserted that he was following his visa requirements, attending all of his classes, and completing all of his assignments. The Court denied his application for bail, leaving him in Dungavel awaiting a decision on whether his case can be judicially reviewed.
In 2018, a WHO report found that immigration detention can have a severe impact on migrants’ health, especially mental health, and that these negative effects increase in severity the longer someone is detained. (WHO, 2018). The student has told us that he is experiencing extreme emotional distress and declining physical and mental health as a result of his prolonged detention.
We are becoming increasingly worried about our fellow student, specifically regarding his health, and are appalled by the way his case has been handled - despite having provided the Home Office with evidence to support that he was following the conditions of his visa over a month ago, they are yet to review his case. The student continues to live in limbo.
We urge the Home Office to review his case, properly consider the evidence he has provided, and make a decision on the case promptly - rather than unnecessarily prolonging the deprivation of the student’s liberty which has proven to have detrimental effects on him.
We stand in full solidarity and hope to welcome him back in our community at the University of Stirling as soon as possible!
Amnesty at University of Stirling
Student Action for Refugees Stirling
NUS Scotland
No Evictions Network