Revealed: the middlemen ripping off foreign workers for care visas
Summary
Date Reported: 23 Feb 2024
Location: United Kingdom
Companies
Meta (formerly Facebook) - Other Value Chain EntityAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Health and social care , Gender not reported )Issues
Recruitment Fees , Contract SubstitutionResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Meta responded to the Resource Centre, saying, "...Many thanks for sharing with us the article from The Times that alleges Facebook is used as a platform for recruitment agencies to exploit prospective migrant care workers, including charging them extortionate fees three times the cost of the visa for non-existent jobs in the UK. Human exploitation is abhorrent and not allowed on our platforms. It violates the commitments made in our human rights policy. In an effort to disrupt and prevent harm, our Community Standards prohibit content that facilitates human exploitation, including content that recruits people for, facilitates or exploits people through human trafficking, including labor exploitation. We have teams across investigations, engineering, policy, and integrity who are dedicated to anti-trafficking efforts… Additionally, we work with trusted safety partners to identify, review, and remove Facebook Pages, Facebook Profiles and Instagram accounts that may be engaging in recruitment, facilitation or exploitation of people. We work with organizations around the world, including Stop The Traffik and A21 to raise awareness of these issues through educational campaigns that share information about resources and organizations that offer support to victims and survivors of human trafficking. Finally, we collaborate across industry to share insights, best practice and technology through our membership in Tech Against Trafficking…"
Source type: News outlet
…The agent behind a Facebook advert offering help in obtaining a care visa in the UK responded within minutes — with an invoice for £6,000 and a list of documents needed.
The agent told an undercover reporter that they would not even have to work as a care worker once in the UK. Their wife could also easily find a job and children could come as well…
…The price would increase to £8,000 for a “family package,” the agent said…
This was one of several offers the undercover reporter received only minutes after typing the words “care worker visa” into Facebook. The social media platform is awash with posts advertising their services to secure such visas for the UK…
The fees these middlemen are charging individuals are more than 20 times more than it costs to apply for a three-year visa directly on the UK government website…
…From March 11, only employers that are undertaking Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered activities will be eligible to sponsor a health and care visa…
An investigation by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), the Home Office agency responsible for the visa system, has found widespread abuse, some of it extending into criminal behaviour…