BBC Global Disination Unit and Africa came
The recruitment agent who scams foreign nationals applying to work in the UK Care sector has been exposed by BBC Secret Filming.
One of the evil agents is a Nigerian doctor who has worked for NHS in the field of psychiatry.
The home office has admitted that the system is open to misuse, but the BBC World Service investigation clearly suggests that these agents can scam people, avoid detection, and continue the benefits.
Our secret filming shows the strategy of agents, including:
- Illegal selling jobs in UK care companies
- To hide fake payroll plans that do not exist some jobs
- Transfer from care in other areas like construction, which also face shortage of employees
The report of immigration scams has increased since a government visa scheme – originally designed to work to foreign medical professionals in the UK – in 2022 it was widespread to include care workers.
To apply for the visa, candidates must first get a “Certificate of Sponsorship” (COS) from a UK employer, which is licensed by the home office. It is required by COS documents that are being exploited by evil rehabilitation agents.
“The measure of exploitation under health and care work visas is important,” says Dora-Olivia Wikol, CEO of the Work Rights Center.
“I think it has turned into a national crisis.”
She says that the sponsorship system has a “systemic risk implied”, as it “keeps the employer in a position of incredible power” and “this hunter of the mediators has enabled to mushrooms”.
The BBC sent two undercover journalists to contact rehabilitation agents working in the UK.
A Nigerian doctor and agency founder Dr. Calvin met Ellenum, who was Harlo, located in Essex, Careerdu.
His website suggests that his business is “catering for young Africans” for “launch for global opportunities”, claiming to be 9,800 “happy customers”.
Assuming that the BBC undercover journalists were well connected in the UK Care sector, Dr. Alnem tried to recruit him to become an agent for his business, saying that it would be very attractive.
“Just take care of me homes. I can make you a millionaire,” he said.
As a potential business partner, our journalist was then given an unprecedented insight on how Dr. Immigration scams actually work by agents such as Alnemi. Dr. Alnem said he would pay £ 2,000 ($ 2,600) for each care home vacancy, he was capable of buying, and offered a commission £ 500 ($ 650) at the top.
He then said that he would sell vacancies to candidates back in Nigeria.
It is illegal to charge candidates for jobs in UK.
He said, “They (candidates) are not paying because it is independent,” he said, while reducing his voice.
“They are paying because they know this is most likely.”
The BBC began his investigation after a series of online complaints about his rehabilitation services.
Appreciation – from South -East Nigeria and in the mid -30s – was one of those who complained, claimed that he was Dr. for a job in the UK. Alanme paid more than £ 10,000 ($ 13,000). He says that he was told that he is going to work with a care company located in Clacton-On-C. This was only when he came that he realized that the job was not present.
“If I had known that there was no job, I wouldn’t have come here,” they say. “At least returned home in Nigeria, if you are broken, I can find my sister or my parents and go and eat free food. This is not the case here too. You will be hungry.”
Stuti says that she cared for months and Dr. Efficiency disturbances for Alnemi, asked when he could start working. Dr. Despite the promise of Allenam’s aid, the job never happened. Nearly a year later, he found a position with another care provider, which was ready to sponsor him to live in the UK.
Our investigation found that efficiency for care – an average 16 people in 2022, and 152 in 2023.
The efficiency for the sponsoring license of the care was canceled in July 2023. Care company can no longer recruit from abroad, but operate.
This told the BBC that this Dr. The alleenum collided with the allegations strongly. It said that it believes that it duly recruits employees of Nigeria and other countries. This has challenged the cancellation of its sponsorship license of the house office, and the matter is now in court.
In another secretly filmed meeting, Dr. Alnem shared an even more sophisticated scam that included sponsorship documents for jobs that were not present.
He said that the “benefit” of having a COS that is unrelated to a job is “that you can choose any city you want”.
“You can go to Glasgow. You can live in London. You can live anywhere,” he told us.
This is not true. If a migrant health and care work arrives in the UK on visa and does not work in the role he is assigned to, their visa can be canceled and they may be riskd in exile.
In secret filming, Dr. Ellenum also explained how to install a fake payroll system, to mask the fact that jobs are not real.
“He (a money trail) is what the government needs to see,” he said.
Dr. Ellenam told the BBC that he had denied services offered by a career, a scam or it worked as a recruitment agency or provided jobs for cash. He said that his company offered only legitimate services, saying that the praise of money passed him to a recruitment agent for transportation, housing and training of praise. He said that he offered to help another employer search for free.
The BBC filmed Underkover with the UK-based recruitment agent, Nana Akwasi Agamang-Pymphe, several people told the BBC that they collectively paid thousands of pounds for their friends and family care activists posts, which was not present, it was not present.
He said that some sponsorship certificates were given to him by Mr. Agamang -Pripeh – replicas of real COS issued by care companies.
We came to know that Mr. Agamang -Preempheh then started offering cos for UK jobs in construction – another industry that allows employers to recruit foreign workers. He was able to establish his construction company and obtain a sponsored license from the home office.
Our journalist presented as a businessman from a UK-based Uganda to join Uganda’s construction workers, asked Mr. Agamang-Pympheh if it was possible.
He replied that it was – for the price of £ 42,000 ($ 54,000) for three people.
Mr. Agamang -Primpheh told us that he had gone into construction because the rules in the care sector are being “tightened” – and claimed that the agents were eyeing other industries.
“People are now folding it,” Mr. Agyamang-Pympheh told the undercover journalist.
Between July 2022 and December 2024, more than 470 licenses were canceled by the government in the UK Care sector. Those licensed sponsors were responsible for the recruitment of more than 39,000 medical professionals and care workers from October 2020.
Mr. Agamang-Pympheh later asked for a downpayment for a certificate of sponsorship, which the BBC did not do.
The home office has now canceled its sponsorship license. The defense of Mr. Agamang-Pilimbh on challenging by the BBC was that he was cheated by other agents and did not realize that he was selling fake COS documents.
In a statement to the BBC, the Home Office stated that it has “strong new action against shameless employers who misuse the visa system” and “” would ban businesses that inciting UK employment laws by sponsoring foreign workers “.
BBC investigation has exposed similar visa scam earlier Target people in Kerala, IndiaAnd International students living in UK Those who want to work in the care sector.
In November 2024, government Announces a clampdown on “wicked” employers hiring workers from abroadAdditionally, from 9 April, there will be care provider in England It is already necessary to prioritize the recruitment of international care workers in the UK Before being admitted from abroad.
Investigation Team: Olaronke Alo, Chiagazi Nvonavu, Sukera Maguire, Nyasha Michel and Chiara Frankvilla
