29 Oct 2023
Overseas students and workers targeted in illicit UK visa trade
Summary
Date Reported: 29 Nov 2023
Location: Pakistan
Companies
Telegram - Other Value Chain Entity , VFS Global - Other Value Chain Entity , Meta (formerly Facebook) - Other Value Chain EntityAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Pakistan - Sector unknown , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Afghanistan - Sector unknown , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Recruitment FeesResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist; Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited Telegram and Meta to respond to the article, and to outline how they monitor and remove brokers’ advertisements that charge migrant workers and students high fees for UK visa appointments. Telegram did not respond to the Resource Centre’s request for comment. Meta’s response can be read in full below.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 29 Nov 2023
Location: Bangladesh
Companies
VFS Global - Other Value Chain Entity , Telegram - Other Value Chain Entity , Meta (formerly Facebook) - Other Value Chain EntityAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Bangladesh - Sector unknown , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Recruitment FeesResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist; Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited Telegram and Meta to respond to the article, and to outline how they monitor and remove brokers’ advertisements that charge migrant workers and students high fees for UK visa appointments. Telegram did not respond to the Resource Centre’s request for comment. Meta’s response can be read in full below.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 29 Nov 2023
Location: Nepal
Companies
VFS Global - Other Value Chain Entity , Telegram - Other Value Chain Entity , Meta (formerly Facebook) - Other Value Chain EntityAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal - Sector unknown , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Recruitment FeesResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist; Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited Telegram and Meta to respond to the article, and to outline how they monitor and remove brokers’ advertisements that charge migrant workers and students high fees for UK visa appointments. Telegram did not respond to the Resource Centre’s request for comment. Meta’s response can be read in full below.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 29 Nov 2023
Location: India
Companies
Telegram - Other Value Chain Entity , VFS Global - Other Value Chain Entity , Meta (formerly Facebook) - Other Value Chain EntityAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - India - Sector unknown , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Recruitment FeesResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist; Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited Telegram and Meta to respond to the article, and to outline how they monitor and remove brokers’ advertisements that charge migrant workers and students high fees for UK visa appointments. Telegram did not respond to the Resource Centre’s request for comment. Meta’s response can be read in full below.
Source type: News outlet
UK visa appointments are being booked up by brokers and sold on for hundreds of pounds in an illicit trade targeting overseas workers and students.
… brokers in some parts of south Asia charging up to £800 for the biometric appointments, which are widely advertised on Facebook and the Telegram messaging service…
The underground market is thriving as agents exploit pressure on some consular services overseas, driven in part by increased visa applications from international students and healthcare workers…
But while direct booking of biometric appointments is typically free or between £30 and £85 for priority services, some people in south Asia are facing difficulties securing slots via VFS Global, the outsourcing company contracted by the Home Office to handle UK visa applications in the region…
“We take all attempts to misuse the visa application appointment system exceptionally seriously. We have not experienced this type or scale of abuse in any other UKVI [UK visas and immigration] locations and have been working closely with the UK Home Office to combat this abuse,” a VFS Global spokesperson said…
One applicant described finding a free appointment on VFS Global’s system as a lottery” and said that they had to check the website at various times during the night…