THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Bal Ram Sampla
Geopolitics
This article is based on findings from the BBC’s undercover investigation published April 2025, and Home Office data.
Every year, thousands of migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh arrive in the UK on student, work, or tourist visas. Most come legally, intend to follow the rules, and do exactly that. But for those whose visas are nearing expiry and who fear having to return home, a shadow industry has emerged — one that promises a way to stay, for a price.
The scheme is cynical in its simplicity. Rogue immigration advisers and unregulated law firms approach vulnerable migrants and offer them a lifeline: claim asylum on the grounds that you are gay. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, homosexuality is a criminal offence.
Under UK law, a person who would face genuine persecution for their sexuality has a legal right to protection. These advisers have turned that humanitarian protection into a product.
The Money
The fees are substantial. One firm was caught charging up to £7,000 to file a fabricated asylum claim, reassuring clients that the chance of rejection was “very low.” Others offered the service for £1,500, with a further £2,000–£3,000 on top to manufacture fake evidence — staged photographs at gay clubs, forged letters of support, misleading medical reports, and even false witnesses willing to claim they had been in a sexual relationship with the applicant.
One adviser boasted she had spent over 17 years running bogus claims. The operation is organised, experienced, and profitable. For these firms, desperate migrants are simply a revenue stream.
Why Pakistan and Bangladesh?
The targeting of Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals is not accidental. Both countries criminalise homosexuality, which makes them ideal candidates under UK asylum law — any gay person returning there faces a credible risk of persecution. Advisers exploit this legal reality by coaching migrants to adopt a false identity, building a fake backstory, and walking them through the asylum interview process step by step.
The statistics reflect how widespread the fraud has become. Pakistani nationals made up 42% of all sexuality-based asylum claims in the UK in 2023, despite accounting for just 6% of total asylum seekers. That disproportion is not explained by demographics. It is explained by a coordinated racket.
A System That Makes It Easy
The advisers know something important: sexuality is almost impossible to disprove. There is no test, no document, no definitive proof either way. As one adviser told an undercover BBC reporter: “There is no check-up to find out if the person is a gay. The main thing is what you say.” The asylum interview relies heavily on oral testimony, and applicants are coached exhaustively on what to say and how to say it convincingly.
The system also has few consequences for failure. If a claim is rejected, it can be appealed. Advisers know the Home Office’s own quality checks are poor — only 52% of decisions were passing internal reviews — meaning even rejected claims have a good chance of being overturned in the courts. The risk of a fraudulent claim being prosecuted as a criminal offence is, in practice, very low.
Who Gets Hurt
It is worth being clear about who the real victims are. The migrants paying £7,000 for a fraudulent claim are taking a serious legal risk — making a deceptive asylum application is a criminal offence carrying the threat of removal from the UK. Many are being exploited by advisers who pocket the money regardless of the outcome.
But the deeper damage is done to genuine claimants. There are real gay men and women from Pakistan and Bangladesh — and from Nigeria, Afghanistan, and many other countries — who fled because their lives were genuinely in danger. Their claims now exist in an atmosphere of suspicion and mass fraud. Every fake claim makes it harder to believe a real one. The humanitarian protection that exists for a serious purpose is being hollowed out by people who see it only as a business opportunity.
What Needs to Change
The government has introduced new powers to fine and immediately suspend rogue advisers, and a dedicated team now works to disrupt professional enablers of immigration fraud. These are welcome steps, but they are late and incomplete. Advisers who are banned from practice have been able to continue operating under “supervision” — a loophole that is only now being closed.
The core problem remains: a legal protection that cannot be easily verified, combined with a backlogged and error-prone decision-making system, and a network of unscrupulous firms that know exactly how to exploit both. Until the system can reliably distinguish a genuine claim from a coached performance, the market for fake asylum identities will remain open for business.
References
1.https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-powers-to-root-out-fake-lawyers-giving-rogue-asylum-advice
2.https://businessday.ng/world/article/uk-based-legal-advisers-advise-migrants-to-pose-as-gay-for-asylum-status/
3.https://punchng.com/how-legal-advisers-help-migrants-pose-as-gay-for-uk-asylum-bbc-investigation/
4.https://www.itv.com/news/2025-04-29/how-the-home-office-plans-to-stop-foreign-sex-offenders-claiming-uk-asylum
5.https://freemovement.org.uk/latest-statistics-raise-questions-around-sustainability-of-home-office-asylum-decision-making/
6.https://www.aol.com/news/legal-advisers-help-migrants-pose-074336354.html
