According to data exclusively obtained from the UK Home Office through the Freedom of Information Act, India topped the list of affected foreign students with 644, representing 45 per cent of the figure, while Nigeria followed with 11.3 per cent. Ghana is third on the list with 92 – 6.46 per cent, while Bangladesh is fourth with 90 – 6.32 per cent.
However, the released data, covering October 2021 to October 2023, is limited to students denied entry at the airports. It does not include international students deported by the Home Office for violating the terms of their visas, such as working beyond 20 hours weekly and academic malpractice.
The Home Office did not also specify the reasons for the removal of the foreign students.
It was gathered that some of the reasons for such decisions included the inability of students to convince the Border Force officers during checks at the airports, presentation of forged documents, and deficiency in English language usage.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission said it did not get any report from students who were removed at UK airports.
The Director of a foreign education consulting firm, Story Across Globe, Emmanuel Gbadega, said a foreign student or any other immigrant might be rejected at the port of entry if the individual couldn’t explain his or her mission in the country.
Gbadega said anybody who looked suspicious could be rejected and returned to their country by the Border Force.