UK men being offered £10,000 to pose as dads in elaborate visa scam
UK men offered £10K to pose as dads in visa scam
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UK men are being offered as much as £10,000 to pose as fathers to migrant babies in a social media visa scam.
The ploy supposedly enables migrant mothers to find a route to residency by allowing a child to get British citizenship through adding their names to birth certificates.
Scammers have approached women on Facebook despite the social media platform claiming such content is banned by its rules.
One account posted: “I'm four months pregnant. I desperately need a citizenship daddy aged between 25-45.”
The ploy supposedly enables migrant mothers to find a route to residency
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Another added: “I'm a dad with a red book [UK passport]. If you're pregnant and haven't got a father then DM me.”
An agent, known as Thai, told BBC Newsnight he had multiple British men who could act as fake fathers and offered a “full package” for £11,000.
Thai, who did not advertise on Facebook, said the process was “very easy” and promised he “would do everything” to ensure the child gets a UK passport.
The agent introduced an undercover reporter to a man named Andrew.
The mother can subsequently apply for a family visa and later even citizenship
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Thai said he “didn’t know anything about it” when confronted and Andrew did not respond to a request for comment.
Immigration lawyer Ana Gonzalez described the visa scam as “incredibly elaborate”.
She said: “It is very sophisticated, incredibly difficult to police.
"In a way it's just proof of how desperate these women are and the incredible lengths they're prepared to go through in order to secure the right to remain in the UK."
More than 4,800 family visas were granted to “other dependents” last year
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The ploy attracts migrant mothers because a child of a woman who is in the UK illegally is automatically British by birth if the father is either a UK citizen or has indefinite leave to remain.
The mother can subsequently apply for a family visa and later even citizenship.
More than 4,800 family visas were granted to “other dependents” last year.
Giving false details on a birth certificate is a criminal offence.