Migrants falsely claiming to be victims of domestic abuse to stay in UK, BBC finds — BBC News

[0:03] We've been on the trail of the immigration advisers helping migrants cheat their way to residency in the UK. [0:09] Now, we're turning our focus to an abuse of the rules designed to protect some of society's most vulnerable. [0:16] You might be qualified for domestic abuse conception. [0:21] This is Eli Siswaka, an unregulated immigration adviser. [0:26] And this is one of several social media posts we've found where he's advertising a way for migrants to stay in the UK [0:32] using special protections for domestic abuse victims. [0:36] This could lead to indefinite leaveful remains. [0:39] OK, we're rolling with that. [0:42] To find out more, we sent our reporter in undercover to meet him with a made-up story. [0:47] He wants to leave his British wife to live with his girlfriend, but his visa is linked to his marriage. [0:53] If he leaves, he can't stay in the country. [0:55] Where, daddy? Where? [0:57] While arranging this meeting, Eli, the immigration adviser, quickly proposed a solution. [1:03] He'll make up a story for the Home Office, one in which our reporter is a victim of domestic abuse. [1:09] Just to be on the safe side that I understand. [1:13] Do you have something, like, maybe you made a story for me? [1:16] What are you going to say? [1:17] I do. I'll create one. [1:19] Oh, you create one? [1:20] Yeah. [1:21] Like... [1:23] I have one. [1:24] You have already one? [1:25] Yeah. [1:26] Eli, what evidence are we going to use? [1:28] Because there is, she doesn't hit me or anything, so there's no domestic violence. [1:32] So how will it work? [1:34] Um, orally, you two have been having an argument. [1:39] And she's been telling you things like, uh, remember, I'm the one who brought you here. [1:45] I will put your case under psychological domestic abuse. [1:49] What is it saying? [1:50] You know, when someone's playing with your mind. [1:53] Yeah. [1:54] Yeah. [1:56] To reassure him, Eli shows our reporter a letter he's got from the Home Office about another client. [2:03] Your application under the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession has been successful. [2:08] You've done that? [2:09] This, that's what I'm showing you. [2:11] Yeah, yeah. [2:12] So, you've got nothing to worry. [2:13] Okay. [2:14] It's the man. [2:16] Yeah. [2:17] But mine, mine is not genuine. [2:18] I know. [2:19] Yeah, but mine, I mean, I, okay. [2:21] Cool. [2:22] It's not genuine. [2:23] What does this legal expert with three decades of experience make of that? [2:27] Well, it is shocking, really, because the domestic violence provisions are there to protect [2:34] extremely vulnerable victims of domestic violence. [2:37] I have had clients who barely escaped with their lives with really abusive husbands that [2:42] tracked them down and nearly killed them, and they had to get police protection. [2:45] So this is no joke. [2:47] And this guy is proposing to use that to manipulate the system, try and get this guy to be able [2:52] to stay. [2:53] It's disgraceful. [2:54] It's absolutely disgraceful. [2:55] For me, it's the lowest of the law, personally. [2:57] The attraction is that domestic violence victims who are married to a Brit get to stay in the [3:01] country, claim benefits, and get permanent residency much quicker than they would have [3:06] done otherwise. [3:07] We've obtained new figures on claims for indefinite leave to remain made under the domestic abuse [3:13] scheme. [3:14] They show a significant rise, from 3,700 to nearly 5,600 applications a year. [3:21] That's an increase of more than 50% in two years. [3:26] Word of making fake domestic violence claims has also spread within migrant communities, [3:32] leaving some, like Ayesha, not her real name, facing devastating allegations. [3:37] After her marriage to her Pakistani husband in 2020, she says their relationship quickly [3:42] changed. [3:43] He became fully controlling, very abusive, and I think his friends at the time were telling [3:49] him, you should have a baby to secure yourself here. [3:52] So, he was trying very hard to get me pregnant, and unfortunately, that included rape as well. [4:01] Ayesha, by now pregnant with his child, claimed she had become a victim of domestic abuse. [4:07] She reported her partner to the police for rape, ended the relationship, and told the Home Office. [4:13] He was told to leave the country, and that's what triggered the allegation of domestic abuse to the police. [4:19] Her partner was now alleging that she was the abuser. [4:23] He alleges that it was from your side, checking his phone without his permission, [4:27] accusing him of being unfaithful. Is there any truth to any of that? [4:30] There's no evidence, and there's no truth to any of that. [4:33] After what she says were further false claims, Ayesha ended up in a police cell, [4:39] separated from her six-month-old baby. [4:42] The Home Office is allowing this to happen. I've just suffered four years of hell because of the Home Office. [4:49] The Home Office told us the abuse of the rules we've exposed is utterly shameful. [4:53] They said the sham lawyers, as they put it, facilitating it, will be put behind bars, [4:59] and the money reinvested for future investigations. [5:02] Eli Siswaka denied being willing to make up a domestic abuse allegation. [5:07] These latest revelations will add to pressure on the government to take tougher action [5:12] against those exploiting rules designed to protect some of society's most vulnerable.