A student due to start studying at the University of Oxford in September is facing deportation.
21-year old Brian White, originally from Zimbabwe, has been living in the UK since the age of 15, when he moved here from Botswana with his adoptive family.
He is currently living in Wolverhampton, but is being threatened with a forced return to his country of birth.
‘Maths Genius’
The Oxford hopeful – who has received 3 A*s and an A in his A-Levels – lived in an orphanage in Zimbabwe until he was six years old. He has no friends or family in the country.
After six years in foster care, Brian was adopted by the White family, originally from Britain, at the age of twelve. He moved to Botswana with the family before they returned to the UK when Brian was 15. He has lived in the country ever since.
Brian has been described as a ‘maths genius‘, but despite his intellect, Mr White still faces deportation. His original application for citizenship via naturalisation, as well as an appeal to the Home Office over the original decision, were both rejected.
Brian has been granted temporary leave to stay in the country, but is now waiting for the final decision for another application to become a permanent resident – which, if granted, will secure his right to study in the UK.
Trouble
Mr White has already lost the chance to study at Oxford once before – in 2016 he was unable to take up his place on the university’s chemistry course due to not qualifying to receive student finance.
Although his place was kept secure for this academic year, Brian may miss out on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity once again – with the double-threat of being returned to a country in which he hasn’t lived for almost a decade.
Disgust over the Home Office’s decision has resulted in friend Luke Wilcox setting up an online petition to help Brian White secure his status as a citizen in the UK.
If he gets deported, he will be returned to a country where he has neither family nor friends.
Get Involved
Over 43,000 people have already signed the petition, but Brian White still needs your help to stay in the UK. Over 6 thousand more signatures are still needed for the petition to reach its goal of 50,000 signees.
To support Brian and help him secure his place at the University of Oxford, simply click on the link here.
More Academics Threatened
Of course, this isn’t the only recent news story in which a British-based academic is facing deportation. Dr Eva Johanna Holmberg, historian at the Queen Mary University, is still unsure about her future in the UK after being threatened with deportation to Finland – despite the government’s assertion that the rights of EU citizens living in the UK will remain unchanged after Brexit.
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