An undercover investigation by the BBC has exposed recruitment agents who are illegally exploiting foreign nationals seeking jobs in the UK care sector. The operation revealed how agents charge desperate job seekers thousands of pounds for positions that either do not exist or are part of fraudulent payroll schemes designed to bypass immigration laws.
One of the key figures in this scam is Dr. Kelvin Alaneme, a Nigerian doctor with a background in psychiatry who has worked for the NHS. Through his agency, CareerEdu, based in Harlow, Essex, he has been selling UK care jobs to unsuspecting applicants, despite the fact that charging candidates for employment is illegal in the UK.
How the Scam Operates
To work legally in the UK, foreign care workers must obtain a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from a licensed employer. The BBC investigation revealed that some agents, like Dr. Alaneme, exploit this system by paying care homes to issue CoS documents, which are then sold to job seekers for exorbitant fees.
Posing as a potential business partner, a BBC undercover journalist gained direct insight into the scam. Dr. Alaneme reportedly offered to pay £2,000 ($2,600) for every care home vacancy the journalist could procure and promised an additional £500 ($650) commission. He then resold these positions to job seekers in Nigeria, charging them large sums despite knowing they were legally entitled to free recruitment.
“They are not supposed to be paying because it’s free,” he admitted in a hushed tone. “They are paying because they know it’s most likely the only way.”
Victims Left Stranded
One of the victims, a Nigerian man named Praise, paid Dr. Alaneme over £10,000 ($13,000) for a job that never materialized. He had been promised work at a care company called Efficiency for Care, based in Clacton-on-Sea. However, when he arrived in the UK, he discovered the job did not exist.
“If I had known there was no job, I would not have come here,” Praise said. “At least back home in Nigeria, if you go broke, you can find family and get food. It’s not the same here—you will go hungry.”
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For months, Praise sent messages to both Efficiency for Care and Dr. Alaneme, seeking answers. Despite repeated promises of assistance, he remained unemployed. It took nearly a year before he finally found a legitimate job with another care provider willing to sponsor his visa.
Fraudulent Practices in UK Care Homes
The investigation revealed alarming irregularities in how some care homes issue Certificates of Sponsorship. Efficiency for Care, for example, had an average of only 16 employees in 2022 and 152 in 2023. Yet, between March 2022 and May 2023, it issued a staggering 1,234 CoS documents to foreign workers—far exceeding its actual workforce capacity.
In July 2023, the UK Home Office revoked Efficiency for Care’s sponsorship licence, barring it from recruiting workers from abroad. However, the company continues to operate and has denied any wrongdoing. In a statement to the BBC, Efficiency for Care refuted claims of collusion with Dr. Alaneme, insisting that its recruitment practices were lawful. The company has challenged the Home Office’s decision in court. 
A Growing Immigration Crisis
Since the UK government expanded its visa scheme in 2022 to include care workers, reports of recruitment fraud have surged. Advocacy groups, like the Work Rights Centre, warn that the sponsorship system has created a power imbalance that leaves foreign workers vulnerable to exploitation.
Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre, described the scale of the issue as a “national crisis,” highlighting how the system enables “predatory middlemen” to take advantage of desperate job seekers.
As investigations continue, the scandal has raised urgent questions about the oversight of the UK’s care worker visa scheme and the need for stronger protections against fraudulent recruitment practices.
