‘Fake father’ citizenship scam: British men offered money by migrant women to pose as dads of their child

London

British men are allegedly being offered thousands of pounds by migrant pregnant women to pose as fathers of their babies in the latest citizenship fraud, a BBC investigation revealed on Tuesday.

The scammers are offering up to £10,000 (12,536 USD) to these men to add their names to a child's birth certificate, providing UK citizenship to them and enabling their mothers a route to permanent residency.

The BBC Newsnight probe found out that the fraudsters are predominantly taking the help of the Meta Platform, Facebook, to find out potential clients and claim to have assisted thousands of women through this fraudulent practice.

However, Facebook claims that such content is banned under the rules and regulations of the tech giant.

As per the report, the 'fake father' visa scam is prevalent across various communities in the United Kingdom.

WATCH | British men are taking thousands of pounds to pose as fathers for migrant womens' babies

Undercover investigation

During the undercover investigation, a BBC researcher, posing as a pregnant woman residing illegally in the UK, engaged in conversations with people offering these services.

One of the agents she spoke to, who went by the name Thai, told her that he knew many British men who were willing to act as the 'fake father' and further offered her a full package for £11,000 (13,779 USD).

He assured her that the process was 'very easy' and further asserted that he 'would do everything' to secure a UK passport for the child.

The agent Thai, who unlike other agents did not advertise on social media, said that he would design a compelling backstory to successfully mislead the authorities.

He then introduced the undercover Newsnight researcher to a British man named Andrew who he said would pose as the father. Andrew was promised £8,000 (10,014 USD) from the total fee.

Andrew in order to affirm his claim of being a UK citizen, showed his passport during their meeting and also took selfies with the researcher.

BBC in its report said that it did not pay any money to any of the agents offering the fraudulent service.

On later being confronted about his involvement in the scam, he vehemently denied any wrongdoing and claimed to have no knowledge about the matter.

The investigators further contacted another agent called Thi Kim, who as per the reports, claimed to have helped dozens of migrant pregnant women get residency in the UK.

She further said that he had a British man available for hire for the service and charged a fee of £10,000 (12,536 USD), with her fee being £300 (375.43 USD).

She then told the researcher that all the men in her network that she provided for the 'fake father' service were born in the UK and were "never registered for any babies before".

‘Incredibly elaborate’ scam

As per immigration lawyer Ana González, the 'fake father' scam is an 'incredibly elaborate' fraud and some women, just to secure their right to remain in the country, are ready to go to any lengths.

She added that this rule was designed to safeguard children and not to give visas to women without legal documentation in the United Kingdom.

As per the immigration law, if an illegal migrant woman gives birth to a child fathered by a British citizen or a man with indefinite leave to remain, the baby automatically acquires British citizenship by birth.

The mother can then apply for a family visa, which in turn will grant her the right to remain in the country and will allow her to pursue the route to citizenship.

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