The number of Nigerians travelling to the United Kingdom is on the rise, and it’s the dream of millions of Nigerians to travel out [japa] out of the nation. However, those who have successfully travelled out are not finding it easier over there, as hundreds of Nigerians and people from other nationalities are stranded in the UK after emptying savings to travel for non-existent jobs.
The truth of the matter is that NOT all Nigerians who travel to the UK are stranded. However, some Nigerians are reportedly stranded in the UK after paying scammers posing as United Kingdom (UK) skilled worker visa agents for non-existent jobs.
A report by Sky News investigation further revealed that these job seekers migrating from Nigeria and mostly from third world countries are paying huge sums of money to these agents to facilitate their trip to the UK on skilled worker visas.
One of the victims of these fraudulent scams perpetrated by these agents, Miss Blessing, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, told Sky News while waiting patiently on the narrow corridor of a food bank, that she is currently destitute in the UK, despite the fact that these agents promised her a great job while in Nigeria.
Miss Blessing further disclosed that she arrived in the UK three months ago, after paying someone she referred to as an “agent” in Nigeria £10,000 to arrange a job for her with a working visa. Sadly, she discovered that there was no job for her upon arriving in the United Kingdom.
She said that she has nothing but relies on handouts from a Nigerian food bank, saying that she did not make the application herself because it is difficult to tell real from fake agents and UK jobs while living in Nigeria.
She said;
“I have no one to blame but myself, I feel like a fool. I would have done the visa procedures and apply for a UK job myself, but there are so many frauds on the internet [in Nigeria] you don’t know what’s real and which job site is fake.
“I’ve always provided for myself while in Nigeria, and I am 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 and I don’t want to rely on others before feeding.
“There are Dozens of Nigerians who were promised jobs on arrival in UK. I met a lots of Nigerians who fall for this scam, and sadly, so many others are still coming after I’ve come. There’s a big scam currently going on in Nigeria over these visa scams.”
Speaking on this same issue, the founder of the Nigerian Community Centre in Rochdale, a town in Greater Manchester, Mary Adekugbe told Sky News that she has been overwhelmed by the recent development and inflow of Nigerians coming to the food bank.
Mary Adekugbe said;
“About 15 of the 35-40 people who generally come to the weekly food bank have skilled worker visas with them. We are overwhelmed, people are desperate. It’s so worrying that people are promised various job opportunities and are not given anything.”
UK Skill Worker Visa.
For a skilled worker visa, the UK government charges between £625 to £1,423, depending on the applicant’s location and the applicant’s duration. An annual healthcare surcharge of £624, and an availability of £1,270 for the applicant to prove that they can actually support themselves while living in the United Kingdom.
Anyone who is interested in applying for a UK worker visa is required to apply directly to the UK government while providing all required documents before their visa can be approved.
According to the UK’s Home Office, Health and care workers represented 86% of long-term sponsored work visas granted and over half of all work visas granted to applicants in 2022.
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