33. Memorandum submitted by
Dr Karen Wilson
I am writing to draw your attention to an illegal
industry which has grown in the UK over the last year or so regarding
the sponsorship and illegal employment of overseas doctors.
As you may be aware, international medical graduates
(IMG) are required to take PLAB 2 examination run by the GMC in
London before they can enter the job market and obtain a licence
to practice. Most take PLAB 1 in their home countries and then
come to the UK for PLAB 2. A visitor's visa is granted for this
purpose by the Foreign Office Missions in various countries. The
conditions of the visa are as follows :
(1) the applicant comes to London to take the
exam;
(2) the applicant has sufficient funds to support
him/herself without working or recourse to public funds;
(3) the applicant is not allowed to enter a course
of study;
(4) the applicant returns home if he/she cannot
secure employment as a doctor on a work permit or PFT visa; and
(5) the applicant is not permitted to undertake
paid or unpaid work.
The grounds for concern are principally related to
two aspects of the above criteria. Large numbers of doctors are
entering the UK after being given sponsorship letters from the
PLAB courses which many attend prior to taking the exam. None
of these courses has DfES recognition and in reality they do not
sponsor the person. Secondly, many doctors are working illegally
teaching on these courses and being paid cash in hand. I will
elaborate further below.
I have attached a list of all PLAB courses in the
UK and their relevant contact details, company house registration
details (where appropriate) and web sites where full details of
courses offered can be seen [not printed]. I have also
enclosed a list of web sites where there are discussion boards
and forums [not printed]. Some of the posts discuss matters
of concern such as:
(1) How to work in the UK illegally; and
(2) How to work in the UK using the identities
of other people and pay NI and tax in their name.
1. SPONSORSHIP
OF DOCTORS
TO OBTAIN
VISITORS VISAS
The courses are not registered with the DfES and
most organisations usually run short 1-2 week courses. The majority
of courses are in London especially in the East Ham area although
there are some in Luton, Birmingham, Manchester, Preston and Cardiff.
Most doctors attend some form of course. Almost all of these courses
offer "sponsorship letters" for the UK visitors visa.
They advertise this on their web site. They charge a fee of £75-£150
for the letters and produce some bank statements for the applicant
to take to the British Embassy in their country of residence.
This enables many applicants who would otherwise be declined,
to obtain the visa. This poses some difficulties.
In reality they do not sponsor doctors. Some provide
short term accommodation for a week or two for which they charge
rent. Their charges are published on the internet. Others do not
provide accommodation. None provide food. None provide accommodation
or any form of support for the six month duration of the visa.
Many courses evict doctors forcibly from accommodation once their
course has finished or they run out of money. Some people have
been physically turned out on to the street. Some courses are
sponsoring up to 200 doctors per month which would be impossible
for any legitimate business let alone many of these who are filing
dormant accounts at the same time as openly trading.
Hence this scheme is a large scale fraud being perpetrated
against the Foreign Office in order to allow a large number of
people to obtain British visitors visas by deception, and enter
the UK. The reality is that many of these candidates would be
refused visas on financial grounds if they applied honestly as
they quite simply do not have the means to finance their six month
stay in the UK. The majority of doctors are coming from the following
countries—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Egypt,
Syria, Nigeria, Ghana, Congo.
The consequence of this fraud is the steady flow
into the UK of a large number of impoverished people without sufficient
funds to sustain themselves. The inevitable result is that they
work illegally as soon as they enter the country and turn to other
criminal activity.
2. ILLEGAL WORKING
Large numbers of doctors without legal jobs or sufficient
financial resources to remain in the UK are hired by the listed
PLAB courses to work for them lecturing and instructing on the
courses. Hence the students become the teachers after a time.
They are paid cash in hand and are doing this in the full knowledge
that they are not permitted to work paid or unpaid.
Some others are seeking employment in local shops
and Asian restaurants, mainly in the East Ham area of London.
Some have apparently been caught working in Tesco. Some are using
false IDs.
3. PLAB COURSES—IR
AND VAT ISSUES
These are generally all unregistered with the DfES.
Some are registered as companies with Companies House but two
show dormant accounts despite actively trading. None are charging
VAT despite the majority making more than the required turnover
to charge VAT.
Given the evidence that most of these courses appear
to be effectively criminal enterprises by virtue of the fact that
they are faciliting large scale illegal immigration by means of
acquiring visas by deception, it is likely that they are also
engaged in Inland Revenue fraud and VAT fraud. Some of the course
organisers may also not be permitted to work as they are on PFT
or other restricted visas.
3 February 2006
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