LONDON: Over 100 migrants, including several from Pakistan, are now facing the prospect of being in the UK illegally after the care agency that sponsored their visas, Renaissance Personnel, was stripped of its ability to endorse visas by the Home Office.

According to a Sky News report, the decision has left these workers and their families in a precarious situation, with only a few weeks to either find new sponsorship or return home.

Mohammad, a 45-year-old father of four, moved to the UK from Pakistan in April 2023, after paying a recruitment agent £19,000 in the hope for a better future for his children. However, shortly after his arrival, he discovered that the promised job was non-existent. Renting a modest house, Mohammad’s children had begun settling into local schools, but now face an uncertain future. “They were having the dream that, okay, we will move to the UK. We will have great education. Now they are worried,” he told Sky News. His children frequently ask, “Baba, what will we do?” They say they don’t have any place to go, now.

His situation highlights the broader issue faced by many migrants. After paying significant sums to agents for job opportunities in the UK, they are left stranded with no work and no income.

Many Pakistani families borrowed huge sums to pay agents in hope for better future for kids

Fajar, another Pakistani migrant, arrived in June 2023 with similar hopes, but has found himself in a similar predicament, working only a few days since his arrival and struggling to pay back the money his parents borrowed to send him to the UK.

Renaissance Personnel, which operates in Brighton, London, and Buckinghamshire, has come under scrutiny for allegedly recruiting more foreign workers than it had work for. While the agency claims it followed proper procedures and blamed the situation on variable work hours in the care industry, the Home Office’s revocation of their licence suggests otherwise.

Brighton and Hove Council, which had a contract with Renaissance Personnel, confirmed they were informed of the investigation and the subsequent licence revocation. The council has paused all new referrals to the agency while reviewing potential risks.

The Home Office has stated that exploitation of migrant workers is unacceptable and that they are working to support those affected into alternative jobs. However, many like Mohammad and Fajar worry about the survival and future of their families as uncertainty surrounding their legal status and lack of income have left them in a dire situation.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2024