The Home Office has issued an apology to a highly trained migrant worker after she was lectured on getting a job more suitable to her credentials.

Pooja Tandon, who was returning from a holiday and who has lived in the UK with her husband for the past four-and-a-half years, was stopped at Heathrow Airport in July.

The former IT professional joined the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, but moved to a more flexible HR role after having a child – which is allowed under the HSMP scheme.

The UK Border Agency sent a letter to the HSMP Forum apologising , stating the situation could have been handled in a more positive manner and that the employeee involved would be retrained.

“The immigration officer who dealt with this incident has been interviewed, and it appears that he was not fully aware of the conditions attached to a HSMP visa,” the letter stated.

“It is accepted that there is a training need in this particular instance, which will be addressed, and the immigration officer has accepted that they should have handled the situation differently and communicated with Mrs Tandon in a better way.”