Surrey doctor Shashi Awai's deportation threat dropped

Ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Shashi Awai has been prevented from working for more than 18 months

A doctor threatened with deportation after her marriage broke down has been granted a reprieve by the Home Office.

Dr Shashi Awai, from Nepal, has been unable to work at East Surrey Hospital for more than 18 months while her request to stay was being processed.

Her plea for indefinite leave to remain in the UK was backed by patients and staff at the hospital, and almost 4,000 supporters who signed a petition.

Now the Home Office has granted her a visa and said she can apply to stay.

Dr Awai, of Redhill, Surrey, said her local MP Crispin Blunt's secretary broke the news in an email and the Immigration Department had since confirmed it.

She said: "I have been given a three-year visa to stay in work, and in the near future I am eligible to apply for indefinite leave, so the battle with the Home Office ends here."

Dr Awai, a specialist in East Surrey Hospital's Ear, Nose and Throat Department, is now applying for another vacancy at the hospital.

Dr Awai said the hospital was like her "second home"

She said after speaking to her boss she was confident she would soon be back at work doing the job she loves.

Dr Awai, who has worked in the UK for 16 years, said she would not have been able to get a state job in her country of birth, which she left 26 years ago, because of her age and would have had to apply for posts in other countries if she had been sent back to Nepal.

"I am really thankful to all the people, the media, my colleagues, for their support," she said.

"It has been a long struggle, but finally... I can be back at work, using my skills and knowledge to help people."

A Home Office spokesperson said all visa applications were considered on their individual merits and in line with immigration rules.