Liverpool doctor told to leave UK or face prison

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The Home Office has agreed to reconsider the case of a young doctor who was ordered to leave the country following an “administrative issue”.

Mu-Chun Chiang, who has lived in the UK for 13 years, was told to leave or face up to six months in prison.

A petition calling for the 27-year-old to be allowed to stay in the UK has received more than 35,000 signatures.

Dr Chiang said she was worried, as her ward at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool was already understaffed.

“When I got the letter I was shocked,” Dr Chiang said.

“I was worried because we were already understaffed on our ward and leaving all my friends would be really heartbreaking.”

Bank account inquiry

Dr Chiang, who is originally from Taiwan, lived in Glasgow from 1997 to 2002 with her parents, and she returned to the UK in 2006 to study.

She applied for a new working visa in August but it was rejected due to a Home Office rule which states an applicant’s bank balance cannot drop below £945 in the 90 days beforehand.

Dr Chiang said the account she used for the application had the correct money by the end of each month, but had dropped below for a few days.

She appealed against the decision by sending details of a separate savings account to show she always had the money required.

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Dr Chiang received a letter on Friday stating her application had been unsuccessful and she “must leave the UK now” or she would “be liable to be detained and removed”.

Satbir Singh, chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said the immigration system is “dysfunctional, complicated and inhumane”.

“At a time when our NHS is under immense strain and crying out for more doctors, kicking out a young doctor trained to work in the NHS just defies basic common sense,”

A Home Office spokesperson said it was reconsidering the application after further evidence was provided.

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