Share Now
on May 23, 2022
We represented a couple from India who came to the UK through the Student visa route. They feared that they would be killed by their own family members if they returned to India.
The couple met each other in a small town in Gujarat, India. Mr P was from a lower Hindu caste in India called Dalit. He fell in love with a girl from a higher caste and the couple decided to marry. Dalits are considered untouchables by the higher caste Hindus and are treated very badly in India. Over the years, there have been several news stories about Dalits being beaten and, in some cases, killed just because they touched someone from a higher caste.
Our clients secretly married in India with the help of their friends. They ran from their small town to a different village where they rented a place and both worked to make ends meet. Being from a higher caste, the girl’s family was well connected with the police and they located our clients and attacked them. They escaped unharmed and moved to another city. This continued for few years until they decided to leave the country.
They came to the UK with the help of the girl’s cousin who was studying in the UK. They entered the UK and claimed asylum.
The first step was to identify the castes of the applicants. Our expert team advised our clients to obtain certain documents from India which proved their identities and the castes. Our clients’ friends in India managed to provide those documents.
Their family found out the friend who helped the couple in the past and was beaten badly by members of the girl’s family. This scared their friends in India and they also stopped all the help and support they were providing.
Then, the second stage was to gather further documents and prepare for the interview. Once they were prepared and all documents were available, they attended the substantive asylum interview and gave a credible account of their hardships in India.
With the help of our representations and documentary evidence, the couple were able to satisfy the Home Office that it was not possible for them to return to any other part of India, as the caste system operates all over India and inter-caste marriages are considered a grave sin in Hindu culture.
Our clients received their refugee status and the couple have recently been blessed with the birth of their first child.
How Can We Help You?