UK to enact new law against false visa sponsorship adverts to curb illegal migration

The British government said on Thursday that a new law will make it a criminal offence to advertise the sale of false visa sponsorships, after an undercover media investigation claimed fake jobs are being openly offered online to help migrants fraudulently secure skilled worker visas in the UK.

The British government said on Thursday that a new law will make it a criminal offence to advertise the sale of false visa sponsorships, after an undercover media investigation claimed fake jobs are being openly offered online to help migrants fraudulently secure skilled worker visas in the UK. 'The Times' report secretly filmed agents advertising ''certificates of sponsorship'' through non-existent jobs that help visa holders meet the stringent Home Office annual salary thresholds. Such a certificate enables a migrant to apply for their skilled worker visa, with a complex web of bank transfers involving thousands of pounds ensuring that the requisite ''salary'' exists only on paper. ''Next week, it becomes a standalone criminal offence to advertise the selling of false visa sponsorships through online adverts, thanks to laws brought in by this government,'' a Home Office spokesperson said. ''Anyone convicted faces an unlimited fine. These cases will be investigated, alongside resulting instances of illegal working, as we have no tolerance for fraudsters exploiting our immigration system,'' the spokesperson said. While the new offence comes into effect from Monday, selling sponsorship for fake jobs is already illegal under current legislation. However, the newspaper investigation found a ''mushrooming economy'' of middlemen charging exorbitant fees for illegal visa sponsorship, and hundreds of fake jobs being offered by criminal networks. Secret filming by the newspaper's journalists revealed unregulated agents offering to help people obtain visas by presenting sponsorship certificates issued by Home Office approved companies. ''Over four months, 'The Times' went undercover to investigate the networks behind the schemes. We spoke to 26 agents and company representatives selling sponsorship and documented more than 250 examples of fake jobs being offered. The jobs were offered at businesses including hospitality, logistics, social care, IT, finance, marketing and graphic design,'' the newspaper claims. The skilled worker visa scheme was introduced in 2020 under the then prime minister Boris Johnson led Conservative government and later expanded to plug shortages in the UK's social care industry. It allows migrant workers, including from India, to be sponsored by one of about 87,000 employers in ''skilled'' jobs, such as executive and management roles or jobs in shortage occupation category such as nursing. The route has since been tightened to raise minimum salaries for many jobs, restrict care workers and remove eligibility for more than 100 medium-skilled roles. However, this has also created a black market aimed at those keen to gain permanent residency or indefinite leave to remain (ILR) -- currently after five years in the UK, a timeframe soon set to be doubled. Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, chief executive of the Work Rights Centre charity, said people were being pushed towards illegal routes after struggling to find legitimate sponsors. She said that revoking sponsorship licences rather than prosecuting rogue firms was ''outrageous''. The Labour government stressed that since it took charge after the July 2024 general election, over 17,400 enforcement visits led to more than 12,300 arrests – marking a 77 per cent and 83 per cent rise respectively. It pointed to the new Online Safety Act, which requires social media platforms to take proactive measures against illegal content, which includes content relating to illegal immigration and people smuggling. Failure to meet this obligation can lead to severe penalties, including fines of up to 10 per cent of global revenue or 18 million pounds, whichever is greater. UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has declared it her ''moral mission'' to get to grips with soaring immigration rates, both legal and illegal, with tougher residency and visa norms being enforced in the coming months. The Opposition Conservatives piled on the pressure after the ''shocking'' revelations in 'The Times' investigation published this week. ''Fraudsters are enabling immigrants to enter or stay in this country illegally at will, this makes a mockery of the laws Parliament passes. Shabana Mahmood must urgently grip this problem and end the rampant fraud she is presiding over,'' said shadow home secretary Chris Philp.

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