UK

Ukrainian refugees falling victim to ‘extremely sophisticated’ UK visa scam, charities warn

Ukrainian refugees are arriving at UK airports with fake visas and false promises of a Homes for Ukraine sponsor family after being targeted by “extremely sophisticated” scams, charities have warned.

Charities told The Independent they are dealing with increasing numbers of cases in which Ukrainians have been tricked into paying hundreds of pounds for permission to travel letters to the UK and fake British visas by criminals taking advantage of their desperation to leave.

The visas are impossible to identify as fraudulent by sight, meaning Ukrainians are permitted to travel by airline staff, only to be told by Border Force that their documents are not valid, according to the charity Settled, which says it is now dealing with between one and five such cases each week.

The Home Office said it is working continuously to identify and prevent this fraud, which it blamed on organised crime groups.

Have you been affected by these scams? Email andy.gregory@independent.co.uk

While some of these fraud victims have landed in a “nightmare limbo” after being classed as illegal migrants and having their passports seized at UK airports, the charity welcomed the fact that Border Force officials now increasingly appear to be granting six-month visas to Ukrainian fraud victims instead.

But the charity is concerned that, despite being granted these discretionary six-month visa stamps, some Ukrainian fraud victims are still being left without access to housing and benefits – because councils and Job Centre staff are failing to recognise them as legitimate.

Mariia, whose hometown in eastern Ukraine is occupied by Russia, told Settled she was sent a supposed UK visa and information about her British sponsors after paying around £300 for help with arranging them.

“I was sure that [my sponsors] were waiting for me in England,” she said. “But when I arrived at Stansted Airport, I discovered that my letter from the Home Office was a fake. The officer stamped my passport with a temporary visa and told me to go to the local authority where it said my ‘sponsor’ lived. 

“When the council said that such a sponsor was not registered with them, I almost fainted. What to do? I had nowhere else to go.”

Mariia was put in a temporary shelter by the Red Cross, which provided her with £30 a week to live on while she struggled for four months to obtain a biometric residence permit. This meant she was unable to work, study, apply for benefits or see a doctor until she eventually received help from Settled.

After first noticing the issue in June, Settled wrote to the Home Office warning that criminals are taking advantage of people’s desperation to leave and their inability to secure a visa by other means.

The government replied in September that it was aware of Ukrainians seeking sanctuary under UK schemes being exploited by organised crime networks, and said officials across the Home Office, including Border Force, were working to identify and prevent instances such as these.

Settled had urged the Home Office to issue clear guidance for Border Force staff to issue temporary visa stamps to defrauded Ukrainians, and is now calling for greater communications and training to ensure councils and other authorities recognise these stamps as legitimate.

The charity Opora is also frequently encountering Ukrainians targeted in visa scams, its managing director Stan Beneš told The Independent. “It’s safe to say that we get two to three messages from people in these positions every week,” he said.

War continues to rage in Ukraine nearly two years after Vladimir Putin’s invasion

“We try to make it as clear as possible in our communications that the Ukraine Scheme visas are free and that people need to have connected with a legitimate UK-based sponsor to apply. We always advise people to speak to their prospective hosts to get to know them and, ideally, to video call at least once.”

It is also common for the scammers to tell refugees to enter the UK through Dublin, or Ireland more generally, since Ukrainians aren’t always aware that Ireland isn’t part of the UK, Mr Stan Beneš said.

Yuliia Ismail, a Ukraine schemes adviser at Settled, agreed that being told to travel via Ireland or by car, rather than taking a direct flight is among several “red flags” Ukrainians should be aware of, as well as being unaware of their sponsor’s identity prior to departure.

“As a case worker I am working with this on a daily basis,” Ms Ismail said.

The Homes for Ukraine scheme was launched in 2022

Council and Job Centre staff do not always recognise the discretionary visa stamps given out to Ukrainian victims of such scams, Settled warns

Xural.com

Related Articles

Bir cavab yazın

Sizin e-poçt ünvanınız dərc edilməyəcəkdir. Gərəkli sahələr * ilə işarələnmişdir

Back to top button