Nearly nine months after losing his wife and toddler in the crash of Air India AI-171 crash, 28-year-old Mohammadmiya Sethwala is facing deportation from the United Kingdom after his visa application was rejected.
Sethwala received an email from the UK Home Office on April 9 rejecting his request to remain in the country. Authorities granted him “immigration bail” until April 22 to leave the UK and return to India, The Indian Express reported.
A native of Vadodara, Sethwala has approached a local court seeking relief. His solicitor is preparing to challenge the bail order, which, if overturned, may allow him to apply for a new visa.
Sethwala had moved to the UK in 2022 on a dependent visa with his wife, Sadiqa, who had enrolled in an International Business Management course. The couple later relocated to Rugby in England after she secured a job and awaited a work permit.
Recalling their journey, Sethwala said, “Sadiqa and I hail from financially weak backgrounds… Our families had no money to sponsor our shift to the UK but our neighbours had pooled in money for our UK dreams… When she completed her course and landed a job in Rugby, she was put on a three-month probation to receive the work permit. Meanwhile, she had also managed to get a job for me as well and we had begun imagining our life ahead, where we would repay our neighbours and settle down in the UK… I did not know that fate had other plans…”
In June 2025, Sadiqa and their daughter Fatima travelled to India for a family wedding while Sethwala stayed back due to work commitments. They were on the ill-fated flight that crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people.
“When the news of the air crash reached Sethwala, he rushed to India… After days of waiting, Sadiqa and Fatima’s mortal remains were handed over,” he said.
He returned to the UK later that month but struggled with grief. “I could not sleep at night due to depression,” he said, as quoted by the IE report, adding that he sought psychiatric help and moved to London to stay with relatives.
His dependent visa expired in January. Attempts to secure a new visa or employment failed. “The solicitor told me that I do not fit into the bereaved spouse category and this is a rare event where a plane crash has killed a resident UK visa holder…” he said.
Sethwala said returning to India would deepen his trauma. “Returning to India will constantly remind me of Sadiqa and Fatima… Being in the UK with my cousins and friends will help me focus on work and life ahead."
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
