The widow of a Tamil doctor who moved to the United Kingdom to serve in the NHS has been left in immigration limbo after the Home Office twice refused her request to remain in the country following her husband’s death.
Dr Vaseeharan Lux Rajagopal, a specialist in geriatric medicine in Kent, relocated to the UK in 2022 with his wife Prabodhya Wijetunge and their two children, seeking stability and opportunity for their family. The family, originally from Sri Lanka, had chosen the UK in the hope of building a life free from the constraints and discrimination they experienced on the island.
However, their plans were cut short when Dr Rajagopal died in 2024 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Since his death, Ms Wijetunge and her two young sons have faced an ongoing struggle to secure their right to remain in the UK. Having arrived as dependants on her husband’s visa, she has twice applied to the Home Office for leave to remain on compassionate grounds. Both applications were rejected.
For Ms Wijetunge, the decision to remain in the UK is not only about stability but also about the future of her children and the realities they would face if forced to return to Sri Lanka.
‘My husband was a Tamil, Hindu, and I’m a Sinhalese Buddhist,’ she said. ‘We don’t have a war [in Sri Lanka] but the discrimination and the racism are still there.’
‘We selected the UK because we thought that our boys can have a good future and grow up without any barriers or stigma because of their parents’ mixed marriage.’
For more than a year, the family has lived in uncertainty, navigating a legal battle while coping with bereavement.
‘Every day, I’m suffering,’ she said. ‘I’m taking medication for depression and I have to see a physio because of tension in my shoulders – and I am still receiving grief counselling.
‘We are not refugees. We are not criminals. I lost my husband and now these are the circumstances we are facing. I don’t know why the Home Office is treating us like this.’
Her first application was refused last March, with a second rejection following two months later. Although a judge granted permission for a judicial review in December, the Home Office opted to withdraw and remake its decision, only to refuse the application again while offering a right of appeal.
The decision has left the family without immigration status for extended periods, severely restricting Ms Wijetunge’s ability to work and support her children. At one stage, the Home Office maintained that her application had ‘no merit’, preventing her from accessing even basic rights during the appeals process.
The case has drawn intervention from the British Medical Association, which has urged the Home Office to reconsider its position. BMA council chair Tom Dolphin wrote to UK Visas and Immigration highlighting the severe impact on the family.
‘We know that international doctors carry a profound sense of responsibility – not only for the patients they treat but also for the wellbeing and security of their families whose immigration status is often dependent on theirs.
‘This prolonged and distressing ordeal has taken an enormous emotional toll on Ms Wijetunge. While grieving the loss of her husband, she is also solely responsible for caring for her young sons, who are settled and thriving in their school community here.
‘She has described the process as lacking compassion and humanity and she has been forced to navigate repeated, costly applications during a period of deep emotional and financial strain. Unable to work, her resources are rapidly depleting.’
He added that the case highlights a broader systemic issue affecting families of international doctors.
‘This case is a clear example of the vulnerability faced by the families of international doctors – individuals who come to the UK in good faith, often at immense personal sacrifice. Their situation highlights an urgent need to ensure no family already enduring the loss of a loved one is left in such legal and emotional limbo.’
‘We are grateful to the Home Office for agreeing to review this case and ask that it be expedited and that discretion be exercised to grant Ms Wijetunge and her children indefinite leave to remain, allowing them the stability and security they need to rebuild their lives in the UK.
‘We also urge the Home Office to ensure that protections are available to the families of international doctors who tragically lose their lives while serving our health system.’
Read more at The Doctor magazine from the BMA here.