Sue Agazie, an international student at Newcastle University and originally from Nigeria, has been told she needs to leave the UK by 20 July or make a new application to stay.
The university said "all international students are subject to strict Home Office rules" but it would not discuss individual cases. She says her supervisor promised her funding when she was recruited which did not materialise and therefore resulted in her being unable to pay her fees.She was diagnosed with stage five kidney disease in September 2023, meaning her kidneys are close to or have completely failed."I have to check my blood pressure almost every two or three hours," she says.
She has been told she, along with her six-year-old child and husband who came to the UK as her dependents, must leave the UK by 20 July as she has not paid her PhD fees.Mrs Agazie argues the university did not need to immediately report her to the Home Office as her inability to pay her fees is directly linked to her complaint.