Immigration Scammers Exposed: Undercover BBC Investigation Reveals Exploitative Practices

Undercover footage from a BBC World Service investigation reveals immigration scammers, including a Nigerian doctor, exploiting vulnerable foreign applicants for UK care jobs. The exposé highlights systemic issues in the sponsorship system and an uptick in fraudulent activity following changes to visa schemes.

Undercover footage from a groundbreaking BBC investigation has exposed a network of rogue recruitment agents preying on foreign nationals attempting to secure jobs in the UK care sector. Among those implicated is Dr. Kelvin Alaneme, a Nigerian doctor with experience in the NHS, who is alleged to have been selling non-existent job opportunities to vulnerable applicants.

The Home Office has recognized the potential for abuse within the system, yet the BBC investigation highlights just how easily these agents can operate without consequence, capitalizing on loopholes to generate illegal profits. Undercover footage reveals the agents' deceptive techniques, which include:

- Illegally selling positions in UK care facilities
- Creating fake payrolls to mask the absence of legitimate jobs
- Transitioning operations into other industries, such as construction, which also suffer from staff shortages

Reports of such immigration scams have surged since the expansion of a government visa initiative in 2022, intended to allow foreign healthcare professionals to work in the UK. Applications for these visas necessitate a "Certificate of Sponsorship" (CoS) from a licensed UK employer - a document that is now being maliciously exploited by unscrupulous agents.

Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre, describes this exploitation as a "national crisis," stressing how the sponsorship system places employers in a position of overwhelming power, thereby facilitating a surge in predatory intermediaries.

As part of the investigation, two undercover journalists approached relocation agents active in the UK, one of whom was Dr. Alaneme, founder of the agency CareerEdu. Boasting of a client base of 9,800 individuals, his agency claims to serve as a "launchpad for global opportunities" for young Africans. In a covert meeting, Dr. Alaneme discussed lucrative opportunities available through his agency, asserting that with his help, aspiring agents could make significant amounts of money.

Promising £2,000 for each care home vacancy, Dr. Alaneme detailed how he would market these positions back in Nigeria. He admitted that the fees charged to candidates for securing a job violate UK regulations, explaining that they pay because it seems to be their only option.

The BBC commenced its investigation after receiving multiple complaints regarding Dr. Alaneme's business practices, including revelations from a complainant known as Praise, who reported paying over £10,000 for a non-existent position in a care home. Praise lamented that his financial risks were far greater in the UK than in Nigeria, where familial support would be available in times of need.

Further investigation uncovered that the care company involved, Efficiency for Care, had issued over 1,200 CoS documents to foreign workers between March 2022 and May 2023, while employing a fraction of that number. Although the Home Office revoked its sponsorship license in July 2023, the company refutes any collusion with Dr. Alaneme, asserting it had hired staff from Nigeria lawfully.

The undercover footage also captured Dr. Alaneme discussing the manipulation of sponsorship documents to help migrants choose their desired locations in the UK, where they could live without actually filling an assigned role. This practice violates the terms of the Health and Care Work visa, putting migrants at risk of deportation.

In another instance, the BBC encountered Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh, another UK-based recruitment agent, who also provided false CoS documents to applicants. This agent later shifted his focus to a construction sector that permits foreign worker recruitment. He informed the undercover journalist that the cost of securing sponsorship for construction workers was £42,000 for three individuals.

While the Home Office has taken action against dubious employers, including revoking licenses for over 470 care sector employers between July 2022 and December 2024, many vulnerable foreign workers remain at risk. The fallout from this episode prompts urgent calls for comprehensive reform of the sponsorship process to protect those seeking employment in the UK, especially after the government announced new measures aimed at minimizing exploitation of migrant workers.