-By LeN Investigative desk
(Lanka-e-News -15.Nov.2025, 11.20 PM) The Home Office has launched a sweeping investigation into nearly 4,900 Sri Lankan nationals suspected of obtaining UK Health and Care Worker visas using forged qualifications, fabricated employment histories and fraudulently issued vocational certificates.
According to senior Whitehall officials, the scale of the alleged fraud is “unprecedented”, with evidence suggesting that thousands of applicants paid as much as £30,000–£40,000 to brokers and agents operating between Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. Many of the workers are now reportedly unable to perform basic care duties, raising alarm across the health and social care sector.
Investigators have identified a network of brokers, some of whom are British citizens of Sri Lankan origin, operating businesses — including petrol station franchises — in Kent and other parts of South-East England. In Sri Lanka, Home Office intelligence has pinpointed around 150 agents, mainly from the island’s Eastern and Western provinces, who allegedly produced forged documents ranging from:
• Fake National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) certificates
• Fabricated English language proficiency test results
• Invented curriculum vitae and employment histories
• Fraudulent training records from Sri Lankan institutions
Several applicants were reportedly issued qualifications by three reputable Sri Lankan hospitals, despite never having attended training courses.
Care-home operators across Britain say they are now grappling with the consequences. Reports submitted by Unison, other unions, and charity bodies warn that the influx of untrained workers has placed additional pressure on already stretched services.
Many of the Sri Lankan recruits arrived with their families and on two-year visas, but are said to have had no prior experience in elderly or disability care. In some care homes, managers have had to reassign or suspend staff who could not meet basic professional standards.
A senior care-sector official described the fallout as “deeply destabilising”, adding that “the people most affected are vulnerable British citizens who depend on safe, competent, regulated care.”
In recent months, the Home Office has revoked or suspended around 470 sponsor licences, citing serious breaches of compliance rules. Officials say the current review will intensify as visa renewals come due in 2026.
Under new enforcement measures introduced by the current Home Secretary, individuals found to have submitted false or fraudulently obtained qualifications now face:
• Immediate visa cancellation
• Removal from the United Kingdom
• Deportation of dependant family members
• Referral for criminal investigation
An internal briefing seen by this newspaper warns that “a significant proportion” of the 4,900 individuals under scrutiny may ultimately be deemed ineligible to remain in the UK.
A separate strand of the investigation concerns the role of Sri Lankan state institutions during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s presidency. The Home Office is examining allegations that elements within the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment and the country’s Department of Immigration and Emigration facilitated the outflow of unqualified applicants, despite knowing they did not meet UK standards.
Former Sri Lankan officials, speaking anonymously, claim that political pressure and the economic crisis at the time encouraged authorities to “look the other way” as thousands sought overseas work.
Critics say this amounted to a systemic failure, one that exploited both desperate Sri Lankan families and the UK’s overstretched care sector.
For many Sri Lankans now facing review, the consequences are severe. Families reportedly sold homes, land and personal assets to pay brokers’ fees, believing UK employment would offer long-term stability. Instead, many now face the prospect of removal.
One Home Office source said:
“People are both perpetrators and victims. They knowingly bought fake qualifications, but they were also manipulated by agents who promised a future they couldn’t deliver.”
As the investigation deepens, officials say the scandal highlights systemic weaknesses in the international recruitment pipeline — and raises difficult questions about how thousands of unqualified individuals were able to pass through UK visa checks during the previous administration.
Senior Home Office figures emphasise that the crackdown will continue throughout 2025 and 2026, describing the episode as “a lesson for both Britain and Sri Lanka in how easily a well-intentioned visa route can be exploited when political oversight collapses.”
-By LeN Investigative desk
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by (2025-11-15 18:25:14)
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