On January 6, Humans of Bombay published a post about the struggle of a man named Varun who spent years to get a visa for the United Kingdom so that he can reunite with his family. Except, it ended up glorifying what seems like illegal immigration.
As the story goes, it was about a man whose mother moved to the UK when he was 9 years old in the hope of a better future. When she got a job, the man who was a boy then, moved to the UK with his father. As they were on a dependent visa, the husband could not work and the son could not study. After 2.5 years, their visa expired. Though they should have moved back to India, they decided to stay in the UK. The father moved to his family in London and the boy stayed with his mother in London, without a valid visa.
They applied for a visa 5-6 times but did not get it. In 2016, his grandmother (Nani) passed away in India and his mother returned. The man wanted to join his mother and “begged” her to take him along, his mother told him to “Stay and build his future”. The idea was, if he had taken a flight to India, he would not be able to re-enter London without a visa. I had to stay back,” the man told Humans of Bombay.
He moved in with his father. His grades were good but he could not “legally” attend any university. His family consoled him over video calls. In 2020, he decided to move to India but could not because of Covid. He enrolled on an online course at an Indian University. As he lived for most of his life in the UK, of course as an illegal immigrant, he started reapplying for the visa. After multiple rejections, he was granted a visa in October last year.
“I finally had my visa in my hands. At 1st it felt unreal because I’d been waiting for this moment for 12 years. I cried as a huge burden was off me. I applied for jobs and soon got one as an accountant. And now, I’m studying to become a CA,” he told Humans of Bombay. For 12 years, the man lived in the UK as an illegal immigrant.
Netizens criticized Humans of Bombay for glorifying illegal immigration
Several netizens were taken aback by the story as it glorified illegal immigration. Instagram user the mountaingirl_ said, “Are we here glorifying illegal immigration? Didn’t quite get the jest of the story.”
Instagram user relikatunga expressed anguish over an unrealistic desire to move to the UK for a “better life” and said, “I don’t understand Indians’ obsession with moving abroad. This guy lost 12 precious years of his formative years with his mother. How does moving to UK help? It’s ridiculous and impractical. Living and spending time with family in your formative years is so important.”
Another Instagram user drop.of.stardust said, “So this is the story of a family that chose to not let the child come back, chose to give him the life/tag of an illegal immigrant because he won’t get a visa again if he returns to India. With due respect to the reunion angle, wondering who thought this was a good story to share out loud.”
Instagram user kangaaaru asked Humans of Bombay not to glorify illegals as victims and said, “Don’t glorify illegals as victims. I am surprised how they allowed to overstay in UK. Also, what does he mean by not allowed to enrol in university? You Can get student visa on Indian passport (based on context, op isnt stateless).”
Instagram user shwetachoudhary said, “Usually I am a fan of your stories, but this story is very disturbing. I live in London and know plenty of people who indulge in illegal immigration. There is nothing sad or emotional about this video people like this thrive on taxpayers’ money and are a burden on the system. Shame on you to promote such a story!”
Instagram user piya_debose said, “Are we then encouraging and glorifying illegal immigrants who squat in a country they do not belong? India isn’t so bad to live in and make a living. Sorry, this didn’t feel right.”
Humans of Bombay has a history of getting called out for dubious stories
This is not the first time Humans of Bombay made headlines for the wrong reasons. In July 2022, they promoted a fundraiser for a woman named Muskaan for her higher studies at Harvard. Netizens found discrepancies in the fundraiser and called out both Muskaan and the platform for promoting the fundraiser. Pointing out the discrepancies, a popular Twitter user @befittingfacts said, “Muskaan Bawa is collecting ₹25 Lakh in Milaap and ₹23.62 Lakh in Ketto for her ‘Education’. In Milaap she is from Dharmshala and in Ketto she is from Chandigarh.”
Several questions were raised and Humans of Bombay was forced to remove the post and issue a statement. They offered to refund the money but claimed they did the background check before publishing the story. They asked the donors to mail them and offered help in getting a refund from Ketto, a crowdfunding platform whose link was shared with the story.
