Kerala visa fraud: Hundreds duped into UK, Canada, Australia jobs yearly

Kerala police said they are receiving multiple complaints every day from people who say they have lost money to fraudsters promising jobs abroad

Visa fraud complaints are rising sharply in Kerala, with police urging the public to stay cautious. Police in Ernakulam rural district said they are receiving multiple complaints every day from people who say they have lost money to fraudsters promising jobs abroad.

 

“This is not just about one or two isolated cases. There’s a pattern here,” a senior officer told reporters. “Fraudsters are swindling lakhs of rupees from unsuspecting people by falsely promising them jobs in countries such as Europe, Canada, the UK, and New Zealand.”

 

This warning came just days after the BBC published a report detailing the struggles of Keralites who migrated to the United Kingdom under the care worker visa scheme.

 

 

Why Kerala is being targeted

 

Ketan Mukhija, senior partner at Burgeon Law, said the high volume of fraud in Kerala was directly linked to migration trends.

 

“Fraudsters target individuals from Kerala primarily due to their strong aspirations for better employment opportunities abroad. Many migrants are driven by economic necessity and the desire to support their families, making them more susceptible to scams that promise high-paying jobs in countries like the UK, Canada, and New Zealand,” Mukhija told Business Standard.

 

“To protect themselves, individuals must rely solely on authorised visa agencies, conduct thorough background checks on recruiters, and avoid making upfront payments without verifying the authenticity of the offer,” he said.

 

False promises and middlemen

 

Thousands of nurses and healthcare workers from Kerala have moved to the UK since 2020 after care workers were added to the shortage occupation list during the Covid pandemic. The visa route allowed employers to sponsor overseas workers and permitted dependents to accompany them.

 

For many, the opportunity seemed like a secure path to better pay and permanent settlement. But it also created a shadow network of middlemen and fake recruiters.

 

Baiju Thittala, a Labour party member and the mayor of Cambridge, said he had dealt with at least 10 such cases in the last three years.

 

“The problem is cross-border,” Thittala told BBC. “The money often goes to care homes or agents based outside India. That leads to jurisdiction problems.”

 

He also said legal costs keep many victims from pursuing action. “Lawyers are expensive, and these workers are already in deep debt.”

 

Thittala estimated that 1,000 to 2,000 Keralites affected by visa fraud or exploitation are still in the UK. He added that hundreds more remain in Kerala, unable to leave after losing money.

 

In Kothamangalam, a small town in Ernakulam district, BBC reporters found around 30 people who said they had collectively lost millions of rupees while trying to secure UK care visas.

 

Stricter rules since 2024

 

From January 2024, the UK Home Office increased the minimum salary threshold for care workers and barred them from bringing dependents, making the route less appealing. Employers are also no longer allowed to pass on the cost of sponsor licence fees or administrative charges to prospective employees.

 

But for those already trapped, the rule changes have come too late.

 

Social media scams and overseas operatives

 

Police said most victims are first contacted through misleading job advertisements on social media. These ads often claim previous success in placing candidates in well-paying jobs abroad. Once hooked, victims are persuaded to transfer money for various charges such as registration, visa processing, and travel costs.

 

In many cases, victims never meet the recruiter in person. “They realise they’ve been cheated only after the scammer stops responding,” police said.

 

Some scams are run by individuals based overseas using social media accounts of locals in Kerala. These local contacts are given a commission for sharing job ads and acting as a front. The phone number on the ad belongs to someone in Kerala, but the bank account details are controlled by the overseas fraudster.

 

Once the money is transferred, the fraudster vanishes. “The local contact then pleads helplessness,” police said.

 

There have also been instances where victims were taken abroad but never given the promised jobs.

 

Police data and warning

 

< 172 visa fraud cases were registered in Ernakulam rural district in 2024  

< 21 FIRs have already been filed in the first two months of 2025  

 

Police have urged the public to use only legally authorised agencies when seeking jobs abroad. “Do not pay money to individuals or unverified agents,” the Ernakulam rural police said.