UK’s immigration rules allow considering asylum provisions for individuals who need safe recluse only after the distressed person makes a formal application from the “first safe country they reach from their home country.”    

The UK Home Office informed India’s NDTV about the rules Tuesday, amid efforts for seeking asylum permit for ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, reports Daily Sun.       

On Monday, Hasina left the country on a military helicopter with her younger sister Sheikh Rehana. The duo made their first major stop outside Bangladesh at a base of the Indian Air Force in Uttar Pradesh. Now, she is believed to be under protective custody of Indian intelligence services at an undisclosed location. 

Notably, Sheikh Rehana is a UK citizen, and Tulip Siddiq, Rehana’s daughter and Hasina’s niece, is currently a lawmaker from Britain’s ruling party. The citizenship status of these two can help Hasina secure UK asylum.

bd-pratidin/GR