Secret shooting shows cheeky visa sponsorship tactics

Agents for recruiting jobs who deceive foreign nationals who go to work in the UK assistance were exhibited in the BBC Secret pictures.

One of the fights are the Nigerian doctor who worked in NHS in psychiatry.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs acknowledged that the system is open for abuse, but the BBC World Service investigation shows the obvious ease with which these agents can deceive people, avoid detecting and continuing profits.

Our secret shooting reveals the tactics of agents, including:

• Illegal job sales in British care companies
• When developing counterfeit salary schemes to hide that some jobs do not exist
• Transition from care to other sectors like construction that also faces staff deficiency

Reports of immigration scams have increased since the state visa scheme – originally designed to allow foreign health workers to work in the UK – in 2022 were expanded to include healthcare professionals.

In order to apply for a visa, candidates must first receive a “COS Certificate” (COS) from the UK employer who is licensed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is the need for COS documents that are operated by Rogue relocation agents.

“The scale of exploitation for health and care visa is significant,” says Doro-Livia Vikol, CEO of the Workers’ Rights Center, charity that helps migrants and victims in the UK gain access to employment.

“I think this has turned into a national crisis.”

She says that there is a “systemic risk” in the sponsorship system because it “puts the employer in the position of incredible power” and “allowed this predatory mediation market in the mushroom.”

The BBC sent two journalists under cover to approach the relocation agents working in the UK.

One met Dr. Kelvin Alanem, a Nigerian doctor and the founder of the agency, a career based in Harlo, Essex.

His web -sight claims that his business is a “starting platform for global opportunities serving young Africans”, claiming that 9 800 “happy customers”.

Considering that BBC Undercover journalist was well -related in the UK care sector, D -Ra Alaneme tried to recruit her to become an agent for his business, saying it would be very profitable.

“Just go home. I can make you a millionaire,” he said.

As a potential business partner, our journalist was given an unprecedented idea of ​​how immigration scams actually work as Dr. Alanem. D -R Alaneme said he would pay 2000 pounds ($ 2,600) for each household vacancy she was able to buy, and offered 500 pounds ($ 650) at the top.

He then said he would sell job candidates to Nigeria.

In the UK in the UK illegally charges candidates for work.

“They (candidates) should not pay because it’s free. It should be free,” he said, dropping his voice.

“They pay because they know that this is most likely the only way.”

The BBC began investigating it after a series of online sorgs on its relocation services.

Praise – from the southeastern Nigeria and in the middle of the 30s – was one of those who complained, saying that he paid to Dr. Alanem more than £ 10,000 ($ 13,000) for his work in the UK. He says he was told that he was going to work with a care company called Efficience for the care-based care. And only when he arrived, did he realize that the work did not exist.

“If I knew there was no work, I wouldn’t come here,” he says. “At least to return home to Nigeria, if you have broken, I can find my sister or my parents and go and eat free food. Not the same. You’ll be hungry.”

Praise says he reported the efficiency of care and Doctor Alanem for months, asking when he can start working. Despite the promises of assistance to Dr. Alanem, work has never come true. Almost a year later, he found a position with another help provider, ready to sponsor him to stay in the UK.

Our investigation showed that the effectiveness of medical care – on average – 16 people in 2022 and 152 in 2023. But the letter sent from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the campaign of May 2023 – and saw the BBC – showed that it issued 1234 certificates of sponsorship workers since March 2022 and May 2023.

In July 2023, the CARE sponsorship license was abolished. The care company can no longer recruit from the border but continues to work.

He was told by the BBC that he strongly refutes the accusation he had conspired with Dr. Alanem. It states that it believes that it is legally gaining staff from Nigeria and other countries. He challenged the cancellation in the cancellation of the license for sponsorship, and the case is now in court.

In another secretly removed meeting, D -R -Alanem shared an even more complicated scam involving sponsorship for jobs that were not present.

He said that “advantage” of having a COS that is not related to work “is that you can choose any city you want.”

“You can go to Glasgow. You can stay in London. You can live anywhere,” he told us.

It’s not true. When a migrant arrives in the UK for a healthcare visa and does not work as a role they have been assigned, their visa may be canceled and they risk deported.

In the secret shots, D -R Alaneme also told how to set up a fake salary system to mask the fact that jobs are not real.

“This (a monetary mark) is what the government has to see,” he said.

D -R Alaneme told the BBC that he was tensely denied the services offered by the career, either he acted as a recruitment agency or provided work for cash. He said his company offered only legal services, adding that cash praise had given him a transfer, placement and learning agent. He said he offered the praise to find another employer for free.

The BBC also took pictures under cover with another UK recruitment agent, Nana Aquasi Agimang-Prempe, after a few people told the BBC that they collectively paid tens of thousands of pounds for the position of care for their friends and family, which did not exist.

They said that some certificates of sponsorships g -n Agyemang -Prempeh gave them, proved to be fakes -replicas of real COS issued by care companies.

We found that Mr -n Agyemang -Prempeh started offering COS for jobs in the UK in construction -another industry that allows employers to recruit foreign workers. He managed to create his own construction company and get a licorian for sponsorship at the Ministry of the House.

Our journalist, acting as a British Ugandan businessman who wants to bring Uganda builders to join him, asked Mr. Agimang-Premperation, or is it possible.

He replied that it was at the price of £ 42,000 ($ 54,000) for three people.

Mr -n Agyemang -Prempeh told us that he had transferred to construction because the rules are “intensified” in the field of assistance -and claim that agents are looking at other industries.

“Now people are distracting to this,” said Mr. Agimang, the secret journalist.

More than 470 licenses in the UK’s assistance sector were canceled from July 2022 to December 2024. These licensed sponsors have been responsible for a set of more than 39,000 health care workers and health care workers since October 2020.

Later, Mr. Agyemang-Prempeh asked down for sponsorship certificates that the BBC did not.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has now withdrawn the license for sponsorship. The defense of Mr. Agyemang-Prempeh, when he disputed the BBC, was that he himself was cheated by other agents and did not understand what he was selling fake COS documents.

In a statement to the BBC, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that “has” reliable new actions against shameless employers who abuse the visa system “and” prohibit enterprises that throw out the UK employment laws from foreign workers’ sponsors. “

BBC investigations have previously discovered similar visa scorches Earning for people in Kerala, Indiaand Foreign Students Living in the UK who want to work in the field of assistance.

In November 2024 the government announced the press on “Rogue” employers who hire workers from the border. In addition, from April 9 will be assistance providers in England Requires priority to the work of international workers already in the UK Before the set from the border.

Investigation Team: Olaronke Alo, Chiagaz Nwonva, Suker Maguire, Niash Michel, and Chiara Francavilla