Sanjay Shah spent 13 months living at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after he became stateless for flouting Britain’s citizenship laws.
The businessman’s journey from the United Kingdom to Kenya took an unexpected turn after he was denied entry into the country – leaving him stranded at JKIA despite attempts to enter both Britain and Kenya.
A report by the Independent.co.uk, a UK media outlet, revealed Shah’s tumultuous journey that stemmed from a diplomatic mix-up.
In 2004, the businessman boarded a flight from Nairobi to London to visit his sister and determine if his family should relocate to the United Kingdom.
He travelled on an overseas citizen’s passport, a year after changes were made to the law in 2003 granting him the legal rights to travel.
According to the law at the time, those born before Kenya gained independence from Britain were considered citizens of the UK and its colonies.
His mission was, however, halted after officials at Heathrow Airport, London denied him access to the United Kingdom after Shah presented a one-way ticket at the immigration desk.
At the time, laws in the UK required anyone on a visitor visa to have a return ticket. Currently, the visa requires visitors with a one-way ticket to show proof that they can afford a return ticket and any costs incurred during their stay. Further, they will be required to provide the purpose of their stay in the country.
Accordingly, the UK’s immigration office stamped ‘prohibited immigrant’ on his travel documents and confiscated his Kenyan passport.
Left with no option, Shah opted to take a flight back to Kenya. He was, however, denied entry for lacking his passport.
Eventually, officials informed him that it would take time before his application for a British passport was processed. An adamant Shah did not wish to take any chances that would jeopardise his ticket to return to the UK so he opted to stay at the airport.
His wife, Rasmita, and son, Veer, visited him to deliver clean clothes and homemade food during his stay at the airport.
“I know each and every shop. I know each and every shopkeeper. I know the sweepers, security officers, and immigration officers,” he told reporters at the time.
Shah’s will stood the test of time because his application for a British passport was approved 13 months later.
