Indian Man Faces UK Deportation After Family Dies in Plane Crash

Mohammad Shethwala, an Indian national who has lived in the United Kingdom for four years, faces deportation after the Home Office rejected his application to extend his visa on compassionate grounds following the deaths of his wife and young daughter in the June 12, 2025, Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, India.

Shethwala, 32, arrived in the UK in March 2022 as a dependent on his wife Sadikabanu Tapeliwala's student visa while she studied at Ulster University's London campus. The couple, from modest backgrounds in India, had pooled resources from neighbors to pursue their opportunities abroad. Their daughter, Fatima, was born in the UK in 2023. Tapeliwala later transitioned to a two-year Graduate visa in January 2024 and had recently started a job in Rugby, preparing to apply for a Skilled Worker visa to secure their future in the country. On that flight from Ahmedabad to London, which carried 241 passengers and crew, the Boeing 787-8 crashed seconds after takeoff, killing 260 people in total, including 19 on the ground when it struck a medical college hostel. Tapeliwala and Fatima were among the victims; only one passenger survived.

Shethwala's dependent visa expired seven...