Middlemen are using social media to help potential migrants obtain UK visas under false pretences, an undercover investigation by the Daily Mail has found. Fixers offer their services online for as little as £12,000, providing sham jobs, forged certificates and contrived payroll records to deceive authorities.
Migrants can thus enter the UK via legitimate routes with the intention of working illegally once their visas expire. The investigation follows a highly critical report by MPs, which concluded that the skilled worker visa route has been systematically exploited. Some experts have warned that legal entry methods dwarf small boat crossings.
The Commons report also found that the Home Office cannot account for how many of the roughly 1.2 million people who entered on these visas have remained unlawfully after their permission to work ended. Unscrupulous employers and intermediaries have already adapted to evade tougher controls announced by Sir Keir Starmer last year.
In response, the Home Office said it had initiated a formal investigation and warned that anyone abusing the system would face the full force of the law. However, the investigation highlights the profitable industry exploited by fixers, who can make thousands per visa.
In one case, a woman in the UK on a student visa advertised her consultancy offering 'All UK immigration services at lower cost' with a 'High success approval rate'. She offered to arrange skilled worker visas for jobs in restaurants, care homes and warehouses for between £12,000 and £19,000, taking a £1,000 fee. In many such cases, there is no requirement for the visa holder to actually start work.
