Illegal Working Crackdown Announced By Minister – Employers Risk £20,000 fine

In the latest government crackdown on illegal working, Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire, has warned that businesses employing illegal migrants face "the full force of government machinery" and risk fines of up to £20,000 per worker. However, at the current Home Office removal rate it will take 4000 years to find and deport all illegal overstayers from the UK.

The Minister said that “rogue employers” who give work to illegal immigrants and visa overstayers were denying UK citizen’s jobs.

Immigration officers are specifically targeting raids on cleaning firms, building sites and care homes according to The Times.

A study carried out by the London School of Economics estimates that there are 618,000 "irregular" residents in the UK, however, campaign group Migration Watch said the figures is closer to 1.1 million.

In 2006 the ippr think tank estimated that it would cost £5 billion and take 20 years to remove 500,000 illegal immigrants and overstayers thought to be in the UK at that time.

Figures published in the Daily Mail this week claimed tha that last year Home Office Immigration Enforcement teams arrested around 700 people and removed just 132 overstayers. At this rate it will take 4600 years to remove the existing illegal immigrants from the UK! Removal figures are probably closer to the thousands per year, but it still means it will take 600 years to remove 600,000 visa overstayers.  

Almost 10 years on from the ippr report, despite numerous measures to tighten the Immigration Rules and reduce grounds on which to appeal against a refusal, the Home Office has an even bigger task on its hands as hundreds of migrants attempt to enter the UK illegally through Calais.

Make sure your employee files comply with the law or face a £20,000 fine

The Conservative government have made progress and more raids being launched by Immigration Enforcement teams, HM Revenue & Customs, the Gangmasters’ Licensing Authority and Health and Safety Executive to tackle the problem.

Other measures to deter overstayers, brought in under the 2014 Immigration Act, include forcing landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants and a reduction in the number of immigration appeals.

Employers can be fined up to £20,000 for employing each illegal immigrant, and, if they knowingly employ the worker they could spend up to two years in prison.

NHS Trusts are still short of nurses and doctors and are recruiting overseas. Tier 2 work permits and working visa sponsorship are being offered to qualified international nurses with IELTS 7.00 and the first stage of NMC registration.

If you need immigration advice of a full file audit service for employers, drop me an email.