British men are taking payments of thousands of pounds to pose as fathers for migrant women’s babies, a BBC investigation has found. They are being offered up to £10,000 to add their names to birth certificates – enabling a child to get UK citizenship and giving mothers a residency route. Scammers are using Facebook to tout for business and claim to have helped thousands of women in this way.
Facebook says such content is banned by its rules. The investigation, by BBC Newsnight, found that the fraud is happening in different communities around the UK.
It uncovered agents operating across the UK who find British men to be fake fathers. A researcher went undercover, posing as a pregnant woman who was in the UK illegally, and spoke to people offering these services.
One agent, who went by the name Thai, told her he had multiple British men who could act as fake fathers and offered a “full package” for £11,000. He described the process as “very easy” and said he “would do everything” to get the child a UK passport. Thai, who didn’t advertise on Facebook, said he would concoct a convincing backstory in order to successfully dupe the authorities.
He introduced the undercover researcher to a British man called Andrew, who he said would pose as a father. Andrew would be paid £8,000 from the total fee.
During their meeting, Andrew showed his passport to prove he was a UK national. He also took selfies with the researcher. The BBC did not pay any money to any of the agents offering the fake father service.
When Thai was later confronted about his involvement in the racket he denied any wrongdoing and said he “didn’t know anything about it”.
Andrew has not responded to our request for comment. Another agent, calling herself Thi Kim, claimed she had helped thousands of pregnant migrant women. She said she could provide a British man and it would cost “ten thousand for the dad”, with her fee being £300.
“All of the men I use were born here and have never registered for any babies before,” Thi Kim told the researcher. I know how to handle everything. You won’t have to worry about not having a passport. It will definitely be granted. Thi Kim has not responded to the BBC’s request for comment.
The fake father scam is described as “incredibly elaborate” by immigration lawyer Ana González. It is very sophisticated, incredibly difficult to police,” she says. “In a way it’s just proof of how desperate these women are and the incredible lengths they’re prepared to go through in order to secure the right to remain in the UK.”
If a migrant woman is in the UK illegally and gives birth to a child fathered by a British citizen or a man with indefinite leave to remain, the baby is automatically British by birth.
The mother can then apply for a family visa, which will give her the right to remain in the UK – and apply for citizenship in due course.
“This rule is to protect children, not to give visas to women who have no papers in the UK,” says Ms González. “It’s not a loophole. It should not be seen as such.”
The BBC could not estimate the scale of the fraud, as the Home Office was unable to provide data on the number of cases it had investigated. It also does not publish data on the number of visas granted for non-UK parents of British children.
Source: BBC
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