Visa delays put lives on hold in Pakistan

Thousands of Pakistani students have been unable to start their studies at universities in the UK because of visa delays.

Razi Farooqui was supposed to start his MSC degree at Oxford University at the beginning of October. Instead he is stuck in Karachi unable to travel abroad or obtain information on the progress of his visa application.

Razi Farooqui had to postpone his studies until next year

Right now I should be a student at Oxford University. My classes started two days ago, but I am unable to attend, because I am stuck in Pakistan with no visa and no passport.

I was informed by the university that they have deferred my admission until October next year, meaning I've lost a whole year.

I am speechless. I don't know what to say. You get an admission to study at a great university, you secure funding for the tuition fee from your employer and the last thing you expect is to have your passport taken away with no information on the progress of the application.

And I've had a clean history of visiting the UK over the last 10 years. It's beyond comprehension.

If they had denied me a visa, I could have lodged an appeal and looked into the case. The problem is that I've been without a passport since July, which means that I am prevented from travelling for business or personal reasons.

I am the deputy general manager for a technology project at one of the largest banks in Pakistan. The tuition fee, which is about £10,000 ($15,901) a year is paid for by the bank.

It shouldn't take three months to check details that can be easily verified Razi Farooqu

Since the visa never arrived, the money was never sent, so I have the agony of trying to get it back. But thousands of Pakistani students have lost the money they paid in tuition fees and haven't been able to start their studies because of this problem.

The university has been very supportive - they kept sending faxes and emails to the British high commission asking them to grant me a visa. God knows what is happening, but I know one thing - it shouldn't take three months to check details that can be easily verified.

My sister had breast cancer and we were at one point considering the option for a treatment abroad. But I can't travel. My life is on hold and I feel like a prisoner.

To add insult to injury, there is no one at the British high commission who responds on the whereabouts of the passport or the status of the application.

The problem is that since June this year the British have announced that all visa decisions will be made in Abu Dhabi. Imagine Pakistan telling all British nationals that visa decisions will be made in, let's say Turkey, and passports will be kept while decisions are being made.

I'm contacting the BBC having exhausted all other avenues: I've written to the deputy British high commission in Karachi, to the British high commissioner in Islamabad, to the visa processing centre in Abu Dhabi, to customer services at the UK Border Agency and finally to Mr David Miliband himself at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

This situation is not specific to me but to a large number of people across Pakistan. Maybe Prime Minister Gordon Brown should consider helping open-minded and educated Pakistanis in their desire to get education and acquire knowledge.