Sue Agazie, a Nigerian PhD student at Newcastle University, faces deportation from the UK after failing to pay her PhD tuition fees.

Diagnosed with stage five kidney disease in September 2023, Agazie, who requires a kidney transplant and continuous medical care, fears returning to Nigeria, where she says quality healthcare is unaffordable, equating returning there to a “death sentence.”

She is on a waiting list for a kidney transplant and says she has to check her blood pressure “almost every two or three hours.”

Agazie claims her supervisor promised funding that never materialised, leading to her current financial predicament. Her unpaid fees have resulted in a Home Office directive to leave the UK by July 20. Agazie, her husband, and their six-year-old child are now at risk of deportation.

Mrs Agazie is one of two students who have made an official complaint over alleged promises made to convince the pair to study in the UK.

Mrs Agazie says 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.

The university said “all international students are subject to strict Home Office rules” and must “legally follow sponsor immigration guidance, informing United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI) of certain changes”.

Agazie has filed an official complaint against the university for failing to fulfill promised support and for their alleged hostile treatment. Currently in debt of £2,000 and reliant on food banks, Agazie criticises the university for not taking her disability seriously.

“I’ve been really surprised by the way the university has treated me. This is not what we were told. It is not the way British universities are sold to us in our country.
The university is meant to protect and support me.”

The university asserts it is investigating her complaint and offers support through its Student Health and Wellbeing Service.

“Throughout the process, we offer additional support to our students through our Student Health and Wellbeing Service,” a university spokesperson said.

Credit BBC