Bangladeshi girl Shougat Nazbin Khan, who will be awarded the prestigious Commonwealth Youth Award for Excellence in Development Work on 17 March with three others in London, has not received her UK visa.
Nazbin told Prothom Alo that she is not sure whether she will be able to go to receive the award or not as the visa section at the British High Commission in New Delhi has so far rejected her visa application twice.
“I submitted my visa application attaching all papers sent by the Commonwealth on 11 February. But the visa authorities rejected the application, questioning my bank account transactions.”
Nazbin told Prothom Alo that she is not sure whether she will be able to go to receive the award or not as the visa section at the British High Commission in New Delhi has so far rejected her visa application twice.
“I submitted my visa application attaching all papers sent by the Commonwealth on 11 February. But the visa authorities rejected the application, questioning my bank account transactions.”
“I recently visited Germany and so my account transaction was 142 euros,” she said.
When Nazbin informed the Commonwealth authorities about her visa complexities, they advised her to resubmit the application again and also assured that they would request the visa section in this regard.
So on 26 February she submitted the application again.
After a few days, an official of the British High Commissioner phoned Nazbin asking her several questions about how she got the award, what she does, where she lives, how many rooms her house has, who lives with her, her monthly income and so on, during an-hour-long interview.
Then on 6 March, Nazbin was denied the UK visa once again. This time, the British High Commission said she was not given a UK visa apprehending she would not return home from London.
“This is an insult to my country. I have been to Europe twice and visited seven countries. Germany even invited me to do my PhD there. But the British High Commission doubts my return,” she said.
Nazbin, from Tarakandi, Mymensingh, got the Commonwealth Youth Award for her outstanding contribution to education.
She has founded an educational institution in Mymensingh for financially insolvent students so that they can avail education using modern technology.
The awards recognise outstanding young people under the age of 30 from Commonwealth countries whose work has significantly contributed to local, national, regional and global development.
The other three young leaders, who were selected for the award, are from Cameroon, Jamaica and Papua New Guinea. Three of them have already reached London to receive the award.
The British foreign office in London said that this is a home office issue.
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