An investigation carried out by Observer has found out that some brokers in South Asia are booking UK visa appointments and then selling them for a high price on the black market.
As revealed, brokers are charging up to and over $900 for biometric appointments. Moreover, it has been found that these “deals” are being advertised on Facebook and Telegram, VisaGuide.World reports.
According to the Guardian, the phenomenon of securing UK visa appointments in exchange for money has been significantly prevalent in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, with the brokers promising to help those interested beat backlogs and secure next-day appointments for “reasonable prices”.
While the authorities have yet to make a comment on the matter, it is believed that the underground market is doing well as brokers are taking advantage of the problems with certain services in some countries and are mainly targeting students who need a visa to enter the UK for study purposes.
In line with the rules that the UK has, all those who plan to enter the country for short or long-term stays must attend an in-person appointment in their home country in order to provide a photograph and their fingerprints.
However, the Guardian notes that while booking a biometric appointment is generally free or up to $90 for priority services, some people in South Asia are finding it difficult to secure slots visa VFS Global, which is responsive to handle visa applications for the UK in the region.
The same source reveals that the methods used by brokers to secure UK visa appointments and then sell them for a higher price vary. Some local agents use automated bots to detect slots as soon as they get released, while others manually monitor VFS Global’s booking portal.
In addition, the UK Home Office said that the agents are also requesting appointments that they do not need, and then they cancel them and rebook the same slots on behalf of their clients. The same highlighted that they are trying to tackle everyone involved in the matter.
Even though the agents are offering UK visa applications in exchange for money in different South Asian countries, data show that Pakistan is the most affected, with applicants saying they had no other choice but to pay the brokers to secure an appointment for them after many struggles.
A national of Afghanistan who applied for a student visa from Pakistan said that he had been checking the portal for an available slot in September but was unable to find one. On the other hand, brokers offered him a slot in three days, the latest for more than €800.
The same applicant said that all of his friends who needed to apply for a student visa were unable to do so themselves.
Other applicants have also complained about not being able to find available UK visa appointment slots and have called on the authorities to put an end to this “massive issue”.
Commenting on the matter, VFS Global said that agents in Pakistan had “significantly ramped up their activities this year” due to the high demand for UK visas.
As for the other countries, VFS Global stressed that they have not experienced a high scale of abuse and, at the same time, said that they are working closely with the UK Home Office to combat this abuse as soon as possible.