We,  a group of residents from Rotherhithe, have started this petition to stop the deportation of our beloved community member, Vimal Pandya. Following years of administrative errors by the Home Office and Border agents, Vimal, who received praise from the Queen for his dedication in helping vulnerable Rotherhithe residents during lockdown, finds himself facing court in his final bid to remain in the UK.

Vimal has always shown how much he cares about the Rotherhithe community where he's lived for 11 years. So many of us have benefited from his help and support over the years, which is why we are fighting to stop him being unjustly deported. 

Vimal Pandya has always played an essential role in our community, but during the pandemic he worked tirelessly and became our “shining light” by  dedicating every waking hour to ensuring those in self-isolation, during the national lockdown,  received regular food and essential supplies, visiting the Cash & Carry every morning and delivering shopping, on foot, until 11.30pm every night. 

His outstanding community service brought him to the attention of Sir Kenneth Olisa, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London, who on February 12th  last year wrote to Vimal on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen offering thanks for his extraordinary efforts.

Since then, however, Vimal has had to appeal against the Home Offices intent to deport him, twice so far this year. He has tried so hard to regularise his immigration status — a battle he has been fighting for many years and at great financial cost in the face of bureaucratic hurdles placed by the Home Office. Now, in his last bid to stay in the country he loves, Vimal has to go to court. 

Having arrived in the UK from India in 2011 to study, Vimal was refused re-entry following a return home in April 2014 to take a seriously ill relative back to her parents. UK Border Force agents informed him that the college, at which he was enrolled and studying at, had lost its right to sponsorship, but neither the college nor the Home Office had informed Vimal of this. 

Having had both his passport and biometric residence permit retained by agents upon his arrival at London City Airport, Vimal was left unable to secure further sponsorship. Vimal has spent thousands of pounds attempting to regularise his immigration status and complete his education, in addition to the many thousands of pounds in lost college fees –  £40,000 so far. While awaiting permission to continue his studies Vimal has become an integral part of the Rotherhithe Community. Now he is truly indispensable, and we don't want him to leave.

Please sign this petition to help stop Vimal Pandya, a kind, hard-working, decent man, from being deported. 

https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/rotherhithe-shopkeeper-receives-letter-from-the-queen-for-outstanding-community-service/