Deliveroo, Uber Eats to aid UK govt crackdown on illegal migrants

Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats to help UK Home Office crack down on illegal migrants by tracking misuse of accounts near asylum hotels

Now, food delivery firms will help the UK government tackle illegal migrants in the country. The UK Home Office announced on Wednesday that a new agreement with delivery platforms like Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats will give them access to new data, including the locations of asylum hotels, to help stop account misuse and illegal working.

 

At present, riders found sharing their accounts with migrants who don’t have the legal right to work in the UK face immediate suspension. Under the new deal, companies will receive more support and information to catch account fraud and close loopholes.

 

“Illegal working undermines honest business, exploits vulnerable individuals and fuels organised immigration crime,” said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

 

 

“By enhancing our data sharing with delivery companies, we are taking decisive action to close loopholes and increase enforcement,” she added, citing tougher enforcement under the government’s Plan for Change, a 50 per cent rise in immigration raids, and new legislation in the works.

 

What the pact involves

 

The agreement, which builds on a commitment made during a ministerial roundtable last month, encourages firms to:

 

• Boost facial verification checks

• Adopt fraud detection tools

• Quickly suspend accounts with suspicious activity

• Track account-sharing patterns near asylum hotel locations

 

Eddy Montgomery, Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime at the Home Office, said, “This next step of coordinated working with delivery firms will help us target those who seek to work illegally in the gig economy and exploit their status in the UK.”

 

Raids up, penalties up

 

According to the Home Office, more than 10,000 illegal working visits were conducted across sectors in the past year, resulting in 7,130 arrests — a 50 per cent increase over the previous year.

 

In the first quarter of 2025, nearly 750 civil penalty notices were issued to companies caught breaching immigration rules, marking the highest figure since 2016 and an 80 per cent rise year-on-year.

 

The government now wants to make it a legal requirement for all companies, including gig economy platforms, to carry out right-to-work checks. These changes are part of the proposed Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which includes measures to prevent the misuse of short-term contract roles by migrants without valid permission.

 

Tighter grip follows PoK visa fraud exposé

 

The tougher enforcement comes just days after an undercover investigation by The Daily Telegraph• exposed how migrants from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are entering the UK using fake documents and later applying for asylum.

 

The report found that applicants were paying up to £50,000 (about ₹58.5 lakh) for UK visa applications stuffed with fraudulent job references and employment records. One such case involved a reference letter from a fake hospital in Mirpur.

 

Who’s getting asylum in the UK?

 

Recent official data shows sharp increases in asylum applications from certain countries:

 

• Pakistani asylum applications rose 79 per cent in a year, totalling 10,542

• Approval rates were: Pakistan and Afghanistan at 53 per cent, Iran at 64 per cent, Syria at 98 per cent, Eritrea at 87 per cent, and Sudan at 99 per cent

 

Among the 40,000 asylum seekers who entered the UK last year on valid visas:

 

• 16,000 were international students

• 11,500 came on work visas

• 9,500 arrived as visitors