Tier 2 crackdown

Jasper De Luna Tier 2 Visas UK Visas 30 January 2015 | Updated On April 14, 2015 | 0

Clampdown on Tier 2 abuse

The UK government have announced a crackdown on phony Tier-2 visa sponsorships, which may lead to up to 2,500 migrants having to leave the Country.

An investigation by immigration officials has revealed that in some cases migrants are being given Tier-2 visas for jobs that don't exist, or are completely different from those advertised.

Jobs in petrol stations, massage parlours and kebab shops are being advertised by employers as highly skilled positions, as part of the process for obtaining a Tier 2 visa. Examples of this include an advert for a £30,000 a year salesperson for a corner shop, and adverts for a PR manager for a takeaway, and for two ‘family therapists' for a Thai massage parlour.

Last year Rashid Ghauri and Ali Junejo were jailed for an immigration scam via a company that they ran called Techsense. The judge in the case Judge Ross said that the UK Border Force was guilty of a ‘catastrophic failure to check the material that had been provided.'

The pair recruited more than 120 migrants from Pakistan for management level jobs in IT, but in reality the immigrants ended up working in lower level positions at supermarkets and fast food restaurants. It is thought that Ghauri and Al Junejo made more than half a million pounds, by selling visas for up to £4,500 each.

Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire says that this latest crackdown is an indication that the current system is working.

He said: ‘We've all heard the stories under the last government of people on skilled visas working as takeaway drivers – but our reforms are cracking down on abuse.'

‘The fact that fewer than two per cent of Tier 2 sponsor licence applications were refused under the old government is ample illustration of the open-door immigration policy and the incompetence of the UK Border Agency in administering it.'

‘Crackdowns like this are yet another example of how we are building an immigration system that works for British nationals and legitimate migrants, and is tough on those who flout the rules.'