Tuesday 13 October 2009

Between submission and viva

Our Chinese student who has recently submitted her thesis can't go home. The Home Office has her passport, has had it since April, and not returned it. Although student and the research office and all the Open University officials have contacted the Home Office, still she doesn't have her visa and passport back. She can't go home and get back into the UK for her viva without it, but neither can she work here because she hasn't got a work visa. It's such a shame because these free months are the time when she should be able to go home for a break. But if she can't get back in to take the viva, then she won't get her PhD after her years of hard work.

It's sad and frustrating.

4 comments:

Mike said...

What happened to her now?

eLizH said...

She still here, wondering what to do with herself. She's really cross about the way she is being treated, and is now thinking of not staying in the UK when she gets her doctorate, which is such a loss to the UK.

Anonymous said...

Hello, it's me Mike again.

Happy new year.

I am interested to know what happened to this student!

Thanks

eLizH said...

Hi Mike, Thanks for asking.
I should blog her progress.
She renewed her passport at the Chinese embassy without the UK visa in early December.
Then she got an email from her local MP who said he would help to chase the UK visa application.
The next day she facebooked that she was waiting for a DX secure delivery, which I think was her visa.