Di BBC secret filming don expose recruitment agents wey dey scam foreign nationals wey dey apply to work for di UK care sector.
One of di wayo agents na Nigerian doctor wey bin don work for di National Health Service (NHS) for di field of psychiatry.
Di Home Office don acknowledge say di system dey open to abuse, but di BBC World Service investigation show how dis agents dey easily scam pipo, avoid detection, and kontinu to make money.
Our secret filming reveal di tactics wey agents dey use including:
Dem dey sell jobs illegally for UK care companies
Dem dey create fake payroll schemes to hide some jobs wey no dey exist
Dem dey shift from care to oda sectors, like construction, wey dey also face staff shortages
Reports of immigration scams dey increase since one goment visa scheme – wey dem bin originally design to let foreign medical professionals work for di UK – bin expand in 2022 to include care workers.
To apply for di visa, candidates must first get a “Certificate of Sponsorship” (CoS) from a UK employer wey dey licensed by di Home Office.
Na di need to get di CoS documents na im dis wayo relocation agents dey use scam and chop pipo money.
“Di level of exploitation under di Health and Care Work visa dey serious,” na wetin Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of Work Rights Centre, one charity wey dey help migrants and disadvantaged pipo for di UK to access employment justice tok.
“I tink say e don turn into national crisis.”
She say “systemic risk dey” for di sponsorship system, becos e “put di employer for a position of incredible power” and e don “turn dis dangerous market of middlemen to mushroom”.
Di BBC bin send two undercover journalists to approach relocation agents wey dey work for di UK.
One bin meet Dr Kelvin Alaneme, one Nigerian doctor and founder of di agency, CareerEdu, wey base for Harlow, Essex.
Im website tok say im business na “launchpad for global opportunities wey dey serve young Africans”, im claim say im get 9,800 “happy clients”.
Dr Alaneme believing say di BBC undercover journalist get beta connection for di UK care sector, Dr Alaneme bin try to recruit her to become agent for im business, im tok say di business go pay well-well.
“Just get care homes for me. I go make you a millionaire,” im tok.
As a potential business partner, im give our journalist beta information into how immigration scams by agents like Dr Alaneme dey use work.
Dr Alaneme say im fit pay £2,000 ($2,600) for each care home vacancy wey she fit bring, and im go offer £500 ($650) commission on top.
Im say im go sell di vacancies to candidates wey dey Nigeria.
To charge money from candidates for job dey illegal for di UK.
“Dem [di candidates] no suppose pay becos na free. E suppose be free,” im tok, as im lower im voice.
“Dem dey pay becos dem know say e fit be di only way.”
Di BBC start to dey investigate am sake of plenti online complaints about im relocation services.
Praise – from southeast Nigeria wey dey im mid 30s – na one of di pipo wey bin complain, im claim say im pay Dr Alaneme more dan £10,000 ($13,000) for job for di UK.
Im tok say, dem tell am say im go dey work wit one care company wey dem call Efficiency for Care, wey base for Clacton-on-Sea. Na wen im arrive im realise say di job no dey exist.
“If I bin know say job no dey, I for no come hia,” im tok. “At least back home for Nigeria, if I broke, I go find my sister or my parents go and I go eat free food. No be di same hia. You go stay hungry.”
Praise say im bin message Efficiency for Care and Dr Alaneme for months, im bin dey ask dem wen im go start work.
Despite all di promises of assistance from Dr Alaneme, di job neva work. One year later, im bin find one position wit anoda care provider wey dey willing to sponsor am to remain for di UK.
Our investigation show say Efficiency for Care bin employ – on average – 16 pipo in 2022, and 152 in 2023.
Yet one letter wey di Home Office bin send to di company on May 2023 – and wey di BBC see – show say di company bin don give out 1,234 Certificates of Sponsorship to foreign workers between March 2022 and May 2023.
Dem revoke Efficiency for Care sponsorship licence for July 2023. Di care company no go fit recruit from abroad, but dem still dey operate.
Di care company tell BBC say dem strongly deny di allegation say dem do collabo wit Dr Alaneme.
Di company say dem beliv say dem lawfully recruit staff from Nigeria and oda kontris.
Di company also challenge di revocation of dia sponsorship licence by di Home Office, di mata dey for court now.
For anoda secretly filmed meeting, Dr Alaneme bin share even more advanced scam wey involve sponsorship documents for jobs wey no dey exist.
Im say di “advantage” of getting a CoS wey no dey connected to a job be say “you fit choose any city you want”.
“You fit go to Glasgow. You fit stay for London. You fit live anywia,” im tell us.
Dis no be true. If migrant arrive di UK wit Health and Care Work visa and im no dey work for di role wey dem bin give am, dem fit cancel dia visa and di pesin risk deportation.
For di secret filming, Dr Alaneme bin also describe how to set up a fake payroll system to hide di fact say na fake jobs.
“Say na [a money trail] wey goment need to see,” im tok.
Dr Alaneme bin also tell di BBC say im dey strongly deny services wey CareerEdu dey offer wey be scam or wia CareerEdu bin act as a recruitment agency or bin provide jobs for cash.
E say im company dey only offer legitimate services, im add say di money wey Praise bin give, dem bin pass am thru one recruitment agent for Praise transport, accommodation and training.
Im say im bin offer to help Praise find anoda employer free of charge.
Di BBC also do one undercover filming wit another UK-based recruitment agent, Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh, afta several pipo bin tell di BBC say dem bin don collectively pay tens of thousands of pounds for care worker positions for dia friends and family, and afta evritin, di jobs no dey exist.
Dem say some of di Certificates of Sponsorship Mr Agyemang-Prempeh bin give dem na fake – photocopy of real CoS wey oda care companies bin give pipo.
We bin discover say Mr Agyemang-Prempeh bin start to dey offer CoS for UK jobs in construction – anoda industry wey dey allow employers to recruit foreign workers. Im bin set up im own construction company and obtain a sponsorship licence from di Home Office.
Our journalist, wey bin pose as a UK-based Ugandan businessman wey bin wan bring Ugandan construction workers to join am, ask Mr Agyemang-Prempeh if e dey possible.
E answer say e dey possible – for di price of £42,000 ($54,000) for three pipo.
Mr Agyemang-Prempeh bin tell us say im don enta into construction becos rules dem don dey “tightened” di rules for di care sector – and im bin claim say agents bin don dey eye oda industries.
“Pipo don dey divert to IT now,” Mr Agyemang-Prempeh tell di undercover journalist.
Goment bin revoke more dan 470 licences for di UK care sector between July 2022 and December 2024.
Di licensed sponsors bin dey responsible for di recruitment of more dan 39,000 medical professionals and care workers from October 2020.
Mr Agyemang-Prempeh later ask for downpayment for di Certificates of Sponsorship, wey di BBC no gree pay..
Di Home Office don revoke im sponsorship licence. Mr Agyemang-Prempeh defence, wen di BBC challenge am, tok say oda agents bin dupe am too and im bin no realise say im dey sell fake CoS documents.
For one statement to di BBC, di Home Office bin tok say dem get “strong new action against shameless employers wey dey abuse di visa system” and dem go “ban businesses wey dey break UK employment laws from sponsoring overseas workers”.
BBC investigations bin don uncover similar visa scams wey dey target pipo for Kerala, India, and international students wey dey live for di UK wey bin wan work for di care sector.
For November 2024, di goment bin announce a suppression on “rogue” employers wey dey hire workers from overseas.
Additionally, from 9 April, care providers for England go dey required to prioritise recruiting international care workers wey already dey UK before recruiting from overseas.
Investigation team: Olaronke Alo, Chiagozie Nwonwu, Sucheera Maguire, Nyasha Michelle, and Chiara Francavilla
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