A distressing trend is emerging as Nigerians fall victim to deceitful travel agents who are orchestrating scams involving non-existent job opportunities in the United Kingdom through the skilled worker visa system.
An eye-opening investigation by Sky News, unveiled on Wednesday, has exposed the harrowing reality of migrants who are being coerced into paying exorbitant sums of money to enter the UK, only to be left stranded upon arrival.
One Nigerian individual, interviewed by Sky News, revealed that she parted with £10,000 (equivalent to N9.7 million) to secure a supposed carer job in the UK, a role that never materialized. This once self-sufficient person, who led a respectable life in Nigeria, now finds herself reliant on food banks for sustenance.
“I’ve always provided for myself. I’m a very hard-working, diligent person. So for me to be here depending on people to eat, coming to the food bank to get food, isn’t okay with me. I don’t feel happy about it,” she lamented to Sky News.
The individual expressed a deep sense of loss, saying, “It makes me feel I’m less of a person. I should be in a position of helping, not receiving aid, because this is not who I was back in my country.”
The Nigerian went on to explain that she didn’t directly apply for the job due to the prevalence of fraudulent agents in Nigeria, leaving prospective migrants uncertain about which travel agents to trust. “I would have done it myself, but there are so many frauds on the internet in Nigeria; you don’t know what’s real.”
This woman’s plight echoes the experiences of dozens of others who have ventured to the UK on skilled worker visas, only to find themselves homeless and destitute.
Another Nigerian shared her tragic tale with Sky News, revealing that she liquidated her assets in Nigeria to relocate to Britain, only to discover that her promised full-time caregiving job was a sham. This heart-wrenching scam has also affected individuals from other nationalities, such as Pakistani and Bangladeshi migrants.
Responding to these troubling revelations, the United Kingdom’s Home Office vowed not to tolerate the abuse of its immigration system and pledged to enact measures to ensure compliance.
Source: Website: http://www.fij.ng
