'I paid N11.6m' - Nigerian woman stranded in UK after paying for fake skilled worker visa

Some Nigerians who went to the United Kingdom on a skilled worker visa face a harsh reality as the promised jobs do not exist.

One of the victims of the fake UK skilled worker visa, Blessing (not her real name), a Nigerian woman, shared her ordeal with the UK broadcaster Sky News.

10,000 pounds wasted on fake skilled worker visa

Her hopes were dashed after arriving in the UK to see that no job awaited her.

She said: “I should be in a position of helping, not receiving aid.”

The Nigerian woman who spoke with Sky News at a local food bank said her dreams of financial independence and self-reliance were destroyed when she found out the job she was promised was a mirage.

While recounting her journey, Blessing disclosed that she paid a considerable amount to an agent in Nigeria, hoping for a promise of honest work in the UK.

When she arrived in the country in June 2023, her dreams were dashed as she found herself without work and depended on handouts.

According to an investigation by Sky News, there is widespread abuse within the skilled worker visa system in the UK.

Intermediaries are profiting heavily within the skilled worker system in the country, milking people seeking jobs in the UK as carers destroying their hopes and dreams.

A Nigerian Community Centre in Greater Manchester operates a food bank to support people like Blessing who are struggling to survive due to failed promises of a failed job.

Nigerian communities in UK call for urgent action

Sky News reports that Mary Adekugbe, who founded the centre, said the increasing number of skilled worker visa holders are struggling, and needing support.

Communities are feeling the impact as the news channel said those who came to the country with dreams of a good life are trapped in a cycle of poverty and exasperation, with some sleeping rough.

There are now calls from organizations and community leaders for more vigorous government checks and measures to stem the abuse of immigration exploitation.

The United Kingdom has issued more than 170,000 skilled worker visas in 2022, with the health and care sector seeing an increase in grants.

The report follows a wave emigration among young Nigerians seeking better life in the United Kingdom.

The suspended governor the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said last year that there is a massive jump in the number of Nigerians seeking to relocate to the UK, which has greatly impacted the country's reserves.

The United Kingdom recently released a list of occupations for which qualified Nigerians looking to relocate can apply for skilled worker visas.

The list from the UK government's website shows 38 occupations are currently being accepted.