UK visa fraud: 25 Pakistani students sent to jail

Celina Ali

Islamabad: As many as 25 Pakistani students were sent behind bars by a court over trying to use fraudulent visas for settling in the United Kingdom.

The District and Sessions Court in Islamabad denied the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) request for an extension of the students’ physical remand, sending them to judicial custody for 14 days.

During the last hearing, the suspects were presented before Judicial Magistrate Ahmed Shehzad Gondal while prosecutors alleged that the students had tampered with passports to enter and settle in the UK.

Though the defence lawyers filed bail applications for the accused, the court sent the students to jail. The judge also issued notices to all respondents for the next hearing scheduled on March 24th.

It bears mentioning that every year thousands of Pakistanis head to the United Kingdom for study, tourism and other purposes and the government has gradually eased the visa process especially for students though some students still try to enter the country illegally using forged documents. The only requirement which Pakistani and Asian students find challenging in getting UK study visa is the English proficiency test or IELTS.