A visa fraud network is being run by some Pakistani consultants who are exploiting loopholes in the UK immigration system, with one firm claiming a “98% success” rate for entry, according to a report by The Telegraph.The investigation found that forged documents, including fake CVs, employment letters, and bank statements, were being sold for up to £50,000 to secure work and student visas. These materials, riddled with basic errors, were being waved through by the UK home office, enabling illegal but technically “legal” entry into Britain.
‘98% entry guaranteed!’
The report revealed that a widespread visa fraud operation targeting Britain’s immigration system, orchestrated by Pakistani consultants, with one guarantying entry into the UK with “98% success”.“Syed Kamran Haider, the chief executive of Mirpur Visa Consultant (MVC) in the Pakistan-administered region of Kashmir, was found to be operating openly online, where he advertises loopholes in the UK asylum system, which experts described as ‘easy to manipulate’,” the report said.MVC was charging thousands of pounds to fabricate documents such as fake CVs and bank statements for visa applicants. These falsified materials were used to meet UK immigration criteria. One such forged application, including a bogus employment letter from a non-existent hospital riddled with grammatical errors, was successfully used to secure a UK work visa, it said.
‘Broken system, easy to manipulate’
UK-based immigration lawyer Harjap Bhangal blamed the nation’s “broken system” which was “easy to manipulate”.“If you claim asylum before that visa runs out, you can still work. The Home Office is a broken institution… They are not realising where the loopholes are [and] what is being done, what migrants are doing,” The Telegraph quoted him as saying.“These visa ‘consultants’ are “selling them a dream,” he said, adding: “[They are] selling a product essentially to people who don’t want to come back [home]. They have found their market. [It’s] quite a sophisticated scam.”Last year, Pakistanis filed 10,542 asylum applications in the UK, the highest from any single nationality and an 80% surge from the previous year, the report said citing government data. Despite these soaring numbers, Pakistanis rarely featured among the top 10 nationalities crossing into Britain via small boats, suggesting they were entering through legal visa channels, and staying there.
