Indian Historian From Oxford Faces Deportation For Spending 'Too Much Time' On Research In India

Dr Manikarnika Dutta, 37, who has worked at prestigious UK institutions including the University of Oxford and the University of Bristol, has been denied indefinite leave to remain (ILR) due to her time spent outside the UK fulfilling academic obligations. Despite her work being integral to her field, the Home Office has ordered her to leave the country.

Dutta moved to the UK in 2012 to pursue a Master’s degree at the University of Oxford, later securing a spouse visa as the dependent of her husband, Souvik Naha, a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow.

Under UK immigration rules, applicants for ILR based on long residency must not have spent more than 548 days abroad over a ten-year period.