A new report has exposed a visa scam that has led to many skilled Nigerians becoming destitute in the United Kingdom.
The report by Sky News detailed how many gainfully employed Nigerians were lured to resign from their jobs and relocate to the UK for tantalizing job offers which turned out to be a mirage.
The victims paid as much as 10,000 pounds to agents who promised them they would get a job upon arrival and be able to recoup their investment.
Many of them relocated only to find that there were no jobs waiting for them and no support was available for them to find their feet in the foreign land.
One of those interviewed for the expose by Sky News was a Nigerian woman, who paid £10,000 to an “agent” for a skilled worker visa that was supposed to secure her a job as a carer in the UK.
The lady said she got to the UK only to find that there was no job for her.
The report showed “how the skilled worker visa system is being abused, with middlemen allegedly being paid huge sums of money to arrange jobs in the UK as carers that do not exist. Many of those who can’t get work are struggling to survive, turning to food banks and even sleeping rough.”
The founder of the Nigerian Community Centre in Rochdale, Mary Adekugbe, says those on skilled worker visas now needing support is a big issue that is increasing her workload—something she describes as “shameful”.
“About 15 of the 35–40 people who generally come to the weekly food bank have skilled worker visas. We are overwhelmed. People are desperate. It’s so worrying,” she said.
Also, a community volunteer, Jones Adekube, lamented the situation of another homeless lady who was too shy to speak with the correspondent.
Adekube said, “Last week we gave her bread and tuna because that’s what she can eat easily without cooking or warming.
“She did some work when she came in. Initially, they gave her one shift a week, which is 12 hours a week. As time went on, there were no shifts.”
According to the report, in the 12 months to March 2023, 170,993 skilled worker visas have been awarded. In the health and care sector alone, grants have increased over two and a half times and represent over half of all work visas issued in the same period.
