Scams Unscrupulous Employers and What You Need to Know About Tier 2 Visas and Work Permits

Whilst the majority of people going to the UK on a Tier 2 visa andwork permit do so without problems, there are a significant number who have been the victim of some unscrupulous companies. This has cost some people dearly, in time, money and even having their work permit and visa withdrawn and having to leave the UK.

It’s vital that anyone who is considering going to work in the UK does so with as much knowledge as possible, enabling them to find a suitable job with a good employer through a trustworthy and reputable agency. Some of the issues to look out for include: 

Fake websites – In 2012 the UKBA (UK Border Agency) issued a warning about a number of frauds targeting people wanting to work in the UK. There are always websites springing up offering fake UK jobs. People who then apply are then told that their application is successful and then taken to a page where they are told they are required to pay for their Tier 1 or 2 visa and work permit. As soon as payment is made, the applicant never hears from the website again, and often soon disappears, leaving them out of pocket and without a job, visa or work permit. 

Telephone scams – These work in the same way as the website scams and instead of a website, people are contacted over the telephone with the offer of a job and are then asked to pay a fee to the company. As soon as this fee is paid, the applicant never hears from the company again, and like in the website scam, is left out of pocket without a job, visa or work permit.

Are you working for an unscrupulous employer? 

The potential problems don’t end once you have a sponsor, job, visa and work permit. There are countless cases of unscrupulous sponsors not following the rules and mistreating applicants in terms of salary and not processing their visa and work permits correctly. When considering a sponsor, all applicants should consider the following: 

Certificate of sponsorship and reference number 

This isn’t an actual certificate but a reference number which is unique and holds all the information about the job in question and all of your personal details. Your sponsor MUST provide you with one of these. You will need to add this to your application form when applying for your Tier 2 visa.

If you’re currently working in the UK and don’t recall having one of these, you should contact your sponsor straight away. If they can’t provide one, you could be working illegally.

Appropriate Salary

On a Tier 2 application, the job you are offered must pay at least £20,500. There are exceptions to this, but none that should realistically affect chefs or other skilled staff in the catering trade.

Some dubious agencies sponsors pay a salary of £20,500 or more, but then take a monthly fee from this. This is wrong. The salary of £20,500 should be paid AFTER such deductions. If you are not being paid £20,500 (before tax and national insurance deductions), then you may be working for sponsor that is not following UK government guidelines and your indefinite leave to remain in the UK may be under threat. 

The solution

By far the best way to ensure your Tier 2 application goes through smoothly and you end up with a sponsor and job that is suitable and matches your skills, needs and requirements, is to use the specialist help of an OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner) registered company such as ourselves at Vira.

You can be assured that your Tier 2 application will be treated with the utmost care by highly trained advisors. Remember we have been successfully working in this sector for 40 Plus Years. 

If you are currently working in the UK and suspect that your sponsor may not be following UK government guidelines and are worried about the validity of your visa and work permit, then you should contact ourselves straight away. We can guide you through the Tier 2 Priority Service. With this, you can get a decision within 10 working days on your visa, and ensure that your remain to leave in the UK is legal and with a sponsor that is suitable and law-abiding. 

For more information please call us on 0870 9909007 or email us atanjum@virainternational.com.