Anchor Baby: Migrant women in UK buy 'British dads' for visa, citizenship for new-borns

British men are allegedly taking thousands of pounds from migrant women, mostly pregnant ones to pose as their husbands, a BBC report revealed Tuesday. According to the probe-based report, these men are offered sums of up to £10,000 to have their names added to birth certificates, which grants UK citizenship to the child and provides the mothers with a chance to get permanent resident in United Kingdom. Exploiting the reach of Facebook, scammers actively seek out potential clients and claim to have assisted numerous women through this fraudulent practice. However, Facebook asserts that such content is prohibited under its rules and regulations. The investigation conducted by BBC Newsnight uncovered the Visa scam prevailing across various communities in the UK. During the undercover operation, a researcher assumed the role of a pregnant woman residing in the UK illegally and engaged in conversations with individuals offering these services. One such agent, who identified himself as Thai, revealed that he had access to several British men who could act as fake fathers and presented a “full package” service priced at £11,000. He assured the researcher that the process was straightforward, claiming that he would go to great lengths to secure a UK passport for the child. Thai, unlike the other scammers advertising on Facebook, explained his strategy of creating a convincing backstory to deceive the authorities successfully. He introduced the undercover researcher to a British man named Andrew, who was identified as the chosen individual to pose as a father. Andrew was promised a payment of £8,000 from the overall fee for his participation. During their meeting, Andrew substantiated his claim of being a UK citizen by presenting his passport. Additionally, he took selfies with the researcher as part of their interaction. BBC assets in its report that there were financial transactions between its researcher and the agent. When Thai, the agent who facilitated the arrangement, was confronted about his involvement in the fraudulent operation, he vehemently denied any wrongdoing and stated that he had no knowledge of the matter. The investigators talked to another agent named Thi Kim, who reportedly boasted about her extensive experience in assisting numerous pregnant migrant women. She claimed to have a network of British men available for hire and quoted a fee of £10,000 for the fake father service, with her own fee amounting to £300. When asked, immigration lawyer Ana González stated that it serves as evidence of the desperation and extreme measures that these women are willing to undertake to secure the right to remain in the UK. If an undocumented migrant woman gives birth to a child in the UK, and the child’s father is a British citizen or has indefinite leave to remain, the child automatically acquires British citizenship by birth. Subsequently, the mother has the option to apply for a family visa, which grants her the right to remain in the UK and allows her to pursue citizenship at a later stage. According to González, this rule is designed to safeguard the welfare of children and should not be exploited as a loophole to provide visas for women without legal documentation in the UK. According to the report, UK home office could not provide any data on the number of visas granted for non-UK parents of British children. However, the Home Office has assured the BBC that it has implemented measures to prevent and identify immigration fraud involving falsified birth certificates. The department emphasizes that a birth certificate alone may not serve as sufficient evidence of paternity, and additional documentation may be required to facilitate thorough verification processes. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.