A PAKISTANI PhD student at the centre of a bizarre visa drama has spoken of his joy following a u-turn by the Home Office which could see his wife and baby finally return to Scotland as early as next week.

It comes a week after the Herald first reported on the case of 28-year-old Arshad, whose wife Lubna and 10-month-old daughter have been unable to return to Glasgow from Pakistan after the Home Office refused to accept that the toddler was born in the UK - despite a birth certificate citing her place of birth as Glasgow.

The reports led First Minister Nicola Sturgeon - in her capacity as MSP for Glasgow Southside - and SNP MP for Glasgow South West, Chris Stephens, to put pressure on the Home Office to review the decision.

Today [tue] Mr Arshad - who goes only by his surname - received an email from the Home Office confirming that it would overturn its original decision to refuse his daughter, Umaima Khan, a dependent's visa.

Mr Arshad, who is halfway through a doctorate in electrical engineering at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), said he was delighted.

He said: "It has all happened very quickly - I was not expecting that based on my previous experiences with the Home Office. I spoke to Lubna earlier and she is very excited and happy.

"I don't want to delay things a minute longer. The Home Office has asked for a copy of Umaima's Pakistani passport, but I hope everything will be processed by next week and they can both be on the first plane to Glasgow.

"I'm expecting them to be here by the end of next week. I really want to say thank you to everyone who has helped me, especially the Herald."

Mr Arshad and his wife have been living in Scotland since 2014 on a student and a dependent's visa, both valid until 2019.

They became parents for the first time last year and, in February, Lubna travelled to Pakistan with her newborn to visit family.

In June, Mr Arshad applied for a visa for Umaima and his wife and daughter were booked to fly back from Pakistan on August 2.

Mr Arshad said he sent the Home Office a copy of Umaima's birth certificate, which states that she was born on December 6 2015 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow and names him as her father. He also provided Umaima's Pakistani-issued passport, which again names Mr Arshad as her father and gives her place of birth as Glasgow.

However, the Home Office said the documents "do not demonstrate that you are related to your stated father or that you were born in the United Kingdom" and rejected the application.

Tonight, local MP Chris Stephens welcomed the u-turn but questioned why the visa was ever refused.

Mr Stephens said: "I’m glad the Home Office finally saw sense and accepted that Umaima’s birth certificate issued here in Glasgow was evidence that she was born in this city. It’s disappointing though that it took intervention from an elected member to sort this situation, rather than process and investigate the application properly in the first place."

A spokeswoman for GCU said a "simple yet avoidable error" had been to blame.

She said: "With Mr Arshad’s circumstances having been brought to our attention, the University reached out to him to offer support and contacted its Premium Account Manager within the Home Office, which has resulted in a very positive outcome.

"The situation was due to a simple yet avoidable error in the original decision making process. We are delighted that Arshad will be reunited with his wife and daughter."

The Home Office confirmed that the case was being looked at again.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said: “All visa applications must meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules.”