UK men offered £10K to pose as dads in visa scam, BBC investigation finds

British men are taking payments of thousands of pounds to airs arsenic fathers for migrant women, a BBC probe has found.

They are being offered up to £10,000 to adhd their names to commencement certificates - enabling a kid to get UK citizenship and giving mothers a residency route.

Scammers are utilizing Facebook to tout for concern and assertion to person helped thousands of women successful this way.

Facebook says specified contented is banned by its rules.

The investigation, by BBC Newsnight, recovered that the fraud is happening successful antithetic communities astir the UK.

It uncovered agents operating crossed the UK who find British men to beryllium fake fathers.

A researcher went undercover, posing arsenic a large pistillate who was successful the UK illegally, and spoke to radical offering these services.

One agent, who went by the sanction Thai, told her helium had aggregate British men who could enactment arsenic fake fathers and offered a "full package" for £11,000.

He described the process arsenic "very easy" and said helium "would bash everything" to get the kid a UK passport.

Thai, who didn't advertise connected Facebook, said helium would concoct a convincing backstory successful bid to successfully dupe the authorities.

He introduced the undercover researcher to a British antheral called Andrew, who helium said would airs arsenic a father. Andrew would beryllium paid £8,000 from the full fee.

During their meeting, Andrew showed his passport to beryllium helium was a UK national. He besides took selfies with the researcher.

The BBC did not wage immoderate wealth to immoderate of the agents offering the fake begetter service.

When Thai was aboriginal confronted astir his engagement successful the racket helium denied immoderate wrongdoing and said helium "didn't cognize thing astir it".

Andrew has not responded to our petition for comment.

Another agent, calling herself Thi Kim, claimed she had helped thousands of large migrant women.

She said she could supply a British antheral and it would outgo "ten 1000 for the dad", with her interest being £300.

"All of the men I usage were calved present and person ne'er registered for immoderate babies before," Thi Kim told the researcher.

"I cognize however to grip everything. You won't person to interest astir not having a passport. It volition decidedly beryllium granted."

Thi Kim has not responded to the BBC's petition for comment.

The fake begetter scam is described arsenic "incredibly elaborate" by migration lawyer Ana González.

"It is precise sophisticated, incredibly hard to police," she says. "In a mode it's conscionable impervious of however hopeless these women are and the unthinkable lengths they're prepared to spell done successful bid to unafraid the close to stay successful the UK."

If a migrant pistillate is successful the UK illegally and gives commencement to a kid fathered by a British national oregon a antheral with indefinite permission to remain, the babe is automatically British by birth.

The parent tin past use for a household visa, which volition springiness her the close to stay successful the UK - and use for citizenship successful owed course.

"This regularisation is to support children, not to springiness visas to women who person nary papers successful the UK," says Ms González. "It's not a loophole. It should not beryllium seen arsenic such."

The BBC could not estimation the standard of the fraud, arsenic the Home Office was incapable to supply information connected the fig of cases it had investigated.

It besides does not people information connected the fig of visas granted for non-UK parents of British children.

However, past twelvemonth 4,860 household visas were granted to "other dependents" - a class which includes those applying to enactment successful the UK arsenic parents of British children.

Deliberately giving mendacious details connected a commencement certificate is simply a transgression offence.

The Home Office has told the BBC that it has measures successful spot to forestall and observe migration fraud utilizing mendacious commencement certificates.

It says that "a commencement certificate unsocial whitethorn not beryllium capable grounds of impervious of paternity" and successful cases wherever this needs to beryllium established, "additional grounds whitethorn beryllium requested to alteration our checks to beryllium satisfactorily completed".

However, migration lawyer Harjap Bhangal disputes whether capable enactment is being taken: "It's not a one-off, it's perchance thousands... The Home Office has conscionable not picked up connected this."

He says that the signifier occurs successful galore antithetic migrant communities including those from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Sri Lanka, and that it has been happening for galore years.

Newsnight's probe recovered that the amerciable signifier is advertised wide connected immoderate Vietnamese Facebook groups for job-seekers.

We recovered dozens of posts from accounts boasting astir their credentials arsenic suitable fake fathers arsenic good arsenic women looking for British men to airs arsenic fathers.

One relationship posted: "I'm 4 months pregnant. I desperately request a citizenship daddy aged betwixt 25-45."

Another read: "I'm a dada with a reddish publication [Vietnamese slang for a UK passport]. If you're large and haven't got a begetter past DM me."

Meta, the institution that owns Facebook, says it does not let "the solicitation of adoptions oregon commencement certificate fraud connected Facebook". It says it volition proceed to region contented that violates its policies.

Divya Talwar investigates an elaborate migration scam wherever large migrant women wage British men thousands of pounds to airs arsenic fathers to children that are not theirs.

Watch the afloat probe connected BBC iPlayer and connected BBC World News and BBC News Channel connected Saturday 20 May astatine 10:30.

We spoke to 1 pistillate who told america she had paid a antheral £9,000 to airs arsenic the begetter of her child.

She said: "He was 30 years older than me. I heard he'd done it earlier with different woman."

The pistillate said she didn't person overmuch interaction with the man. The brace lone met 3 times including erstwhile they went to the registry bureau for the commencement certificate.

Another pistillate told america she had paid a antheral £10,000 to airs arsenic a begetter - lone to larn that helium had lied astir his migration status.

"Only a time aft getting my baby's commencement certificate I recovered retired that helium didn't really person citizenship. I went crazy, due to the fact that I already enactment down his details connected the commencement certificate. I couldn't alteration it."

The pistillate present has a alien arsenic the registered begetter of her babe and she and her kid inactive bash not person permission to stay successful the UK.

Harjap Bhangal says the Home Office needs to analyse much visa applications that rise a "red flag".

"If a kid claims to beryllium British and has a British genitor and the different genitor doesn't person a visa - that should beryllium a cleanable lawsuit for a elemental petition for a DNA test."

In the UK determination is nary request for DNA investigating erstwhile registering a commencement oregon applying for a child's British passport.

Mr Bhangal doesn't deliberation galore radical are being prosecuted for this crime.

"That's wherefore radical are doing it - due to the fact that there's nary fearfulness of immoderate repercussions."