Workplace visited by UKBA official

[Frowster]

Hello there.

Below is a description of the situation in question and my view of it. I would be grateful if someone could try to shed some light on the situation.
This message is quite long but I hope this will not put you off!

Here's the story: me and my Filipina girlfriend both work in a nursing home in London. She holds a tier 4 student visa and works between 30-48 hours a week (36 on average). Most of the other students who work for our company also work in excess of their permitted hours.

Just a week ago our workplace was visited by a UK Border Agency official. Also, thanks to a tip-off from a mutual friend of ours, we learned that another nursing home, which is also run by our company, was targeted at the same time.
The purpose of both visits was the same: examining students' files. Our manager was cooperative and a person from our Head Office was also called in to handle the situation. Having rifled through the students' files, the UKBA agent left the premises.

Just two days after that incident, our manager asked a number of our colleagues, all of them tier 4 students, my girlfriend being one of them, to bring their passports and visa-related documents to him so he can photocopy them. Surely this has something to do with the visit by the UKBA. I've been doing a lot of digging, trying to piece all the facts together and get a clear picture of the situation. One of the things I've come up with is: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/emplo ... ost280208/

These sections are of particular interest:

1. "Under the 2006 Act, you are are liable to payment of a civil financial penalty if you employ a person (...), or who works for you in breach of their conditions of stay in the United Kingdom."

2. "Whilst the 2006 Act makes employers liable to civil penalties for employing illegal migrant workers, it also allows employers to have an excuse against payment of a civil penalty for doing so. Employers can have the excuse by carrying out specific checks on the original documents of prospective employees. Employers will only have the excuse for employees with time-limited leave to be in the UK if they carry out repeat checks at least once every 12 months."

So, in light of recent events, it would appear that our employer was issued with a Notification of Potential Liability (or a warning maybe) for employing illegal workers, hence the sudden decision to have their documents copied - in an attempt to have an excuse against paying the fine.

But this is the employer's problem. What concerns me is: what will happen to those students who were discovered to be working in breach of their visa conditions?

Another thing I've found are enforcement guidance documents:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

Scroll down to chapter 31.8. - visits to places of employment - which says: "Before visiting places of work, try to establish the names of offenders and undertake pre-visit checks (see chapter 31.3). Try to enlist the co-operation of employers in identifying employees who may be immigration offenders (...)

So, again: what hope is there for the students to get away with this? Will they be let off with a slap on the wrist, our employer being the only one to face the consequences? Or will the UKBA send enforcers to arrest my girlfriend and the others and then deport them?...

OK! What do you guys think about all this? How bad do you think the situation is? How worried should we be? Just please be honest with us...

Thanks in advance! Any help will be appreciated.

[Casa]

At the very least, you should be prepared for her employment to be terminated. As you are aware she is in breach of the terms of her student visa.
When does her visa expire? When does she find time to attend her studies?

[wunder]

Judging by a similar experience of non-EEA student I knew - she will not be deported now!
However she will be refused an extension of her Tier 4 visa and will be told to leave on her own + she will be given a visa ban (no idea about the duration of that, sorry).

[Casa]

I agree with Wunder which is why I asked how long before her current visa expires.

[geriatrix]

Though your friend may not be deported, as suggested by wunder, there is a provision in immigration rules to curtail current leave to enter / remain for immigration offences such as above (breaching conditions of stay): 323(i).


regards

[Frowster]

Thank you for your replies.

At the very least, you should be prepared for her employment to be terminated. As you are aware she is in breach of the terms of her student visa.
When does her visa expire? When does she find time to attend her studies?

This is a rather tricky situation! Her visa expired at the end of October. She applied for an extension before that happened and is currently awaiting a decision.

I thought her employment might be terminated as a result of the UKBA visit. So far the only thing that's happened in relation to this is the manager asking her to bring her passport and visa-related documents to him in order to have them photocopied.
However, please note it's just a week since the UKBA paid us the visit.

As for her studies, she skipped many of her classes and did not finish her course as a result. However, her university offered to "get everything sorted out" provided she can pay the tuition fees for the next course. Which they - she and the uni - did.

Finally, you say she will probably not be deported. I am relieved to hear that but please bear in mind she's not the only person who was found to be working in breach of the conditions of their stay in the UK. It's more like 6-7 people in total. Just wondering if that's not enough to prompt the UKBA to send enforcers to our workplace.

Anyway, I will keep you guys posted on any developments! Again, thanks for giving your views on this situation.

Regards

[The Station Agent]

I'd say the employer will be in the shit. Liable to fines and (if they are on the register of sponsors) removal of their right to sponsor non-EU national workers.

Your girlfriend will probably be told (at some point) that she has broken the rules and that her visa might be curtailed and she may be asked to leave. How long they take to do this is another matter, but it's likely at some point.

[Frowster]

Hello again.

Just wanted to give you guys an update on the situation: today we received a letter from the UKBA saying that my girlfriend's application has been approved and she has been granted an extension of her visa. Our colleague, who also applied for an extension, was also granted a new visa.

Funny thing is, the decisions on those applications were made a week after our workplace was visited by the UKBA so either it's an appalling oversight on their part, or there is something fishy about this. Either way, we're not complaining for the time being.

[The Station Agent]

It's an oversight on their part. I can virtually guarantee it. The visiting officers work at regional offices and report to their office boss before it goes anywhere else. Their report will still be trundling its way through the system. Then they'll realise the mistake in about a month. Just my opinion.

[Mr Rusty]

It's an oversight on their part. I can virtually guarantee it. The visiting officers work at regional offices and report to their office boss before it goes anywhere else. Their report will still be trundling its way through the system. Then they'll realise the mistake in about a month. Just my opinion.

I would agree.
Also, reading the OP, I think it's possible that the employer has not yet been served with a Notice of Potential Liability for a Civil Penalty, which normally follows the service of illegal papers on the offenders themselves, and subsequently they called in the documents for a check to try and avoid further action.
What happens next remains to be seen.

[Frowster]

Hmm. I hope our joy will not be short-lived but it seems our dealings with the UKBA are not over yet. My girlfriend's new visa is valid for 21 months so they will surely do something about it when they realise their mistake.

As Mr Rusty said - what happens next remains to be seen. I'll keep you posted on any significant developments.

Regards!