One of the biggest injustices in British legal history: ‘Our families are asking for answers’

One of the biggest injustices in British legal history: ‘Our families are asking for answers’

A new attempt is to be made to tackle what has been described as “one of the biggest scandals in British legal history” and compared with the Windrush and Horizon IT scandals.

A direct appeal to Prime Minister Keir Starmer is planned by victims of the scandal, which began in 2014 with a BBC TV report on cheating in an English-language test by some international students at two UK testing centres.

The then UK government quickly asked the company that ran the tests, Educational Testing Service, to investigate. As a result of its findings, the Home Office suddenly terminated the visas of more than 34,000 students, making their presence here illegal overnight. A further 22,000 were told that their test results were “questionable”. Over 2,400 have been deported.

A few thousand stayed, desperate to clear their names. But, stripped of their right to work, study, rent a house or access healthcare, many became destitute and suffered severe health problems.

They have tried to highlight the mass injustice through media and politics. A few who could afford to, or borrowed money, have been fighting – and recently winning – expensive, uphill court battles.

But there has been no apology, not even a serious review of what some courts have described as flawed evidence; no rescinding of visas, no readmission to universities that they were forced  to leave in an instant.

With a new government in power, the students have decided to try to end their living hell by writing to the Prime Minister and asking him to cut the Gordian Knot that is blocking their future.

Aditya Khadka voices his anger and frustration on behalf of a group of overseas students fighting to clear their names

“ We can wait no longer.

We are victims of an injustice inflicted on us by the former UK Government’s “hostile environment” policy under Theresa May.

We were never given a fair chance to defend ourselves, yet our futures were destroyed. Some of us have been driven to the brink of mental and emotional collapse.

In many cultures, having a failed immigration status is seen as shameful, and many parents have cut ties with their own children out of fear of social stigma.

 

Some families took out loans, sold land, or borrowed money to send their children to the UK for a better future. Instead, their children were left to suffer in legal limbo, unable to work or support themselves.

Our parents wake up every day with unanswered questions: Why did this happen? How did our child’s dream turn into a nightmare?

They hear whispers in their communities, face judgment, and suffer humiliation for a cruel act that was never our fault.

The pain of knowing our parents have suffered because of this injustice is unbearable.

This scandal has done more than deny us visas—it has ruined lives.

Some have lost their minds to depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

Many have considered suicide, many have disappeared.

Some have been hospitalised, placed on medication to control their anxiety and panic attacks.

Many of us have been forced into homelessness, unable to rent a home, relying on food banks, temples, and charities just to survive.

We were once students with bright futures. Now, we are ghosts in a country that refuses to acknowledge our suffering.

We are trapped in a system that has stripped us of our dignity.

For many of us, the fight for justice has come at a devastating cost. Wrongfully accused students spent years entangled in legal battles just to clear their names. Lives were placed on hold, dreams shattered, their futures stolen. While the world moved forward, they remained stuck in uncertainty, unable to work, study, or even plan for their future.

Even for those who finally won their cases, the victory came too late. By the time they were granted visas, the damage was irreversible. Many had lost their families back home—parents who passed away while they were stranded in legal limbo, siblings who moved on with their lives, childhood homes that no longer existed. The very places they once called home had become unfamiliar. They had fought for justice, but when they finally received it, they had nothing left to return to. No family. No support. No future back home.

We have spent thousands in legal fees, desperately trying to prove our innocence.

Some of us borrowed money, sold family property, and drained every penny, believing justice would prevail.

The Post Office Horizon IT scandal showed the devastating consequences of a government refusing to admit its mistakes. Innocent people were branded as fraudsters, forced into financial ruin, and some even took their own lives, all because the government ignored clear warnings of faulty evidence.

Migrant Voice’s #MyFutureBack campaign:

Migrant Voice’s #MyFutureBack campaign has helped many international students clear their names from Home Office accusations of cheating in English-language tests.

The students have been fighting for justice for 10 years and Migrant Voice has campaigned with a group of them since 2017. 

The campaign aims are:

• a simpler process for appeals — introduce a simple, free, and publicly available mechanism for students to apply for a decision on their case or reconsideration
• the immigration record of every student who is cleared of cheating must be wiped clean; and universities, employment checking services and others informed
• facilitate students’ return to study, or support those on work or entrepreneur visas to find new jobs or restart their businesses — by removing barriers created by the allegation

Photo credit: Migrant Voice