Legal Advisers Charging Migrants Thousands to Fake Being Gay for UK Asylum
A shadowy network of legal advisers is systematically coaching migrants on how to falsely claim they are gay to secure asylum in the United Kingdom, with fees reaching as high as £7,000 for the service. Undercover investigations have exposed how these advisers provide cover stories and instruct migrants on fabricating evidence, including supporting letters, photographs from LGBT nightclubs, and medical reports.
Targeting the Asylum System
Migrants whose student, work, or tourist visas are expiring are being advised to dishonestly assert they face deadly persecution in their home countries, such as Pakistan or Bangladesh, where homosexual acts are punishable by lengthy prison sentences. Overall asylum claims surpassed 100,000 in 2025, with 35 percent originating from individuals whose visas had expired, significantly outnumbering small boat arrivals.
The system is being exploited by legal advisors seeking to extract substantial fees in return for assisting migrants to remain in the country. Undercover BBC News reporters, posing as students facing visa expiry, approached several legal advisers to uncover these practices.
High-Cost Coaching and Fabricated Evidence
At Connaught Law in London, senior adviser Aqeel Abbasi quoted £7,000 for the service, assuring the reporter that the risk of refusal was very low. He instructed the reporter to have photographs taken in gay clubs and to find someone to pose as a fake male partner.
In another instance, at Law & Justice Solicitors in east London, paralegal Mazedul Hasan Shakil referred a reporter to Tanisa Khan, an advisor to Worcester LGBT, a group that describes itself as a support organisation for gay and lesbian asylum seekers. Ms Khan told the journalist that pretending to be gay was the only route to obtaining a visa, a method she claimed everyone was adopting.
She offered a £2,500 package that included club photos, tickets, letters claiming sexual relationships, and an endorsement from Worcester LGBT. Ms Khan boasted of her success rate and even suggested that the client's imaginary wife could apply for asylum by claiming to be a lesbian.
Revelations at Group Events
At a Worcester LGBT event in Beckton, east London, attended by more than 175 men from across the UK, several individuals openly admitted to undercover reporters that virtually none were genuinely gay. One attendee stated, Nobody is a gay here. Not even 0.01% are gay. The group's website asserts it supports only genuine LGBT asylum seekers and is formally recognised by the Home Office.
Legal and Ethical Breaches
Ana Gonzalez, an immigration lawyer with three decades of experience, condemned such practices, stating that advisers like Ms Khan are clearly breaking the law. She emphasised that these actions make it harder for legitimate asylum seekers and refugees, particularly for intangible claims like being LGBTI, where evidence is often subjective.
After being confronted by BBC News, Ms Khan blamed communication difficulties for a misunderstanding, citing her lack of fluency in Urdu. She denied instructing the reporter to make a false claim or offering to create fabricated evidence. Law & Justice Solicitors clarified that Ms Khan had no professional connection to the firm and is investigating any potential unauthorised access to its London office.
Rising Trends and Previous Cases
The number of asylum seekers claiming protection based on sexual orientation has surged in recent years, reaching 2,133 in 2023. Pakistanis accounted for the most claims at 578, followed by 175 from Bangladeshis and 103 from Nigerians.
Earlier this year, the Daily Mail revealed a case involving a Cameroonian man, Marius Kamna, 35, who was granted asylum in Britain after claiming to be gay but was later found to have a secret wife and child. Kamna travelled to the UK on a temporary visa for the 2021 UN climate summit in Glasgow before seeking asylum based on his sexuality. The asylum panel was never informed about his heterosexual marriage in Cameroon, though Kamna insisted his marriage was the deception, not his claim to be gay.
This follows a separate Mail investigation that exposed Facebook fixers selling UK visas to illegal migrants for as little as £12,000, using sham jobs, forged certificates, and contrived payroll records. The probe aligned with a damning Commons report that found widespread abuse of skilled worker visas and warned the Home Office lacks clarity on how many of the 1.2 million migrants who entered via this route have stayed to work illegally after their permits expired.
Official Responses and Investigations
A Home Office spokesman stated, Any attempt to misuse protections designed for people fleeing genuine persecution because of their sexuality is deplorable. The asylum system is built on robust safeguards to ensure every claim is rigorously and fairly assessed. Protection is granted only to those who meet the established criteria. Abuse is actively uncovered and procedures continually reviewed to shut down misuse.
Worcester LGBT responded by noting that Ms Khan is not a member of its leadership and holds no decision-making authority. The organisation opened a formal internal investigation into her conduct on April 8, 2026, and after she failed to respond by April 13, 2026, she was permanently removed from all association with Worcester LGBT. Connaught Law has been contacted for comment regarding the allegations.
