Vulnerable migrants scammed out of ‘huge sums of money’ by rogue solicitors and immigration advisers
Vulnerable migrants are being scammed out of “huge sums of money” by rogue solicitors and immigration advisers giving false promises over visa and asylum applications, a watchdog has warned.
John Tuckett, the Immigration Services Commissioner, told The Independent fraudsters were capitalising on waves of refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine, and that illegal advice on Home Office applications that have no prospect of success was now a “very extensive practice”.
“This does happen, it’s vicious, it’s horrible, and it damages people emotionally and financially when they are at their most vulnerable,” he added.
One victim told openDemocracy she had been conned out of £3,500 by a solicitor who assured her she would be able to convert her temporary visa into the right to remain in the UK because she had a baby son.
Mary* said she believed the man and paid up-front, adding: “My dad had just passed away. And so I used money from him. My mum lent me £2,000, and we had some small savings. So we managed to come up with the £3,500.”
A year later, the Home Office confirmed her application had been denied but the same solicitor tried to convince her to pay another £2,000 for a legal challenge.
“He kept saying that if I didn’t put in an application, that we would be sent home,” Mary said.
Feeling that something was wrong, she sought advice from another solicitor and was told that the application had “no chance”.
Weeks later, the Home Office informed her that the first solicitor had reported her overstaying her visa and ordered her to leave the country.
“I was so scared,” Mary said. “I trusted him because he was a solicitor. We just believed his word. I’m sure this is happening to a lot of people.”
Mr Tuckett said the account tallies with reports received by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), which regulates immigration advisers.
The watchdog received 131 complaints over potentially illegal advice in 2020-21, but Mr Tuckett believes the figure is the “tip of the iceberg”.
“The scale is very difficult to assess as we have relied on referrals by members of the public who had an experience such as those described coming to us,” he said.
“For many, there is no way of checking the advice they receive to see where it is of any value or use at all.
“Many victims may not speak English and they certainly will not have a detailed understanding of UK immigration law. They are sadly an easily exploitable group of people and there are these criminals who are undoubtedly doing it for profit.”
Many migrants are believed to be too frightened to report their experiences to authorities because of their immigration status.
“I was scared that if I made a report, I would be sent home,” Mary said.
A man who arrived in the UK on a work visa and sought advice on how to remain in the country said he was too scared to report an adviser who scammed him out of £800.
The money was taken for an application for a student visa, which was destined to fail, and Edward* refused to pay a further £2,800 the fraudster demanded.
