Immigration refers to the movement of people from their home region or country to reside permanently in another country. Immigration usually provides immigrants with the opportunity to grow and to start life afresh. Yearly, millions of people around the world leave their home country for another country for reasons ranging from economic issues, natural disaster, political issues to family reunification.

One of the initial challenges that immigrants face is the cost of immigrating. As a result, while a lot of immigrants go through the legal route, some choose to enter another country without proper legal documentation. This automatically makes them illegal immigrants. There are about 272 million international migrants internationally, which is about 3.5% of the global population. In this article, we will take you through how to identify an illegal immigrant, how to report illegal immigrants and possibly the challenge that illegal immigrants face.

Who is an illegal immigrant?

If you are living in a country without legal documentation and valid permission, you will be classified as an illegal immigrant liable to face deportation. You won’t have the right to access free healthcare, the right to work and other benefits. Besides, if you enter a country lawfully, you can become an illegal immigrant if you have overstayed the permitted duration.

Generally, you become an illegal immigrant when you:

• Enter a country without valid authority
• Enter a country with false documentations
• Overstay the duration of your Visa
• Work or study on a tourist or non-immigrant visa waiver
• Enter into a fraudulent or false marriage
• If your marriage to a citizen is annulled or terminated

How to report illegal immigration in the UK

The United Kingdom is ranked number four on the list of top ten destinations for illegal immigrants globally. You can either report an illegal immigrant as an individual or as an employer of an illegal immigrant.

Reporting an illegal immigrant as an individual

As an individual, you can contact the home office, call the emergency line or ask for the police to report illegal immigrants in the following circumstances:

• When you notice that someone is working or living in the UK illegally
• When you notice someone employed an illegal immigrant
• When you notice someone is involved in smuggling, or
• when someone is involved in illegal immigration

The process of reporting is anonymous so you don’t have to give your name and address. Any information received by the home office will be treated as confidential. You can also contact the immigration enforcement hotline or anti-terrorist hotline if you notice any border crime. Furthermore, you can report false document to the home office online or by phone.

Reporting an illegal immigrant as an employer

As an employer in the UK, you are expected to carry out document checks on your prospective employees before employment and at regular intervals for existing employees that hold temporary permission to work. This check is done to verify if your employees have the right to work in the UK.

Where a document check reveals that your employee is working in the UK illegally or not eligible to work in the UK and you continue to employ the person, you may become liable to pay a fine for this breach. Aberdeen immigration lawyers said that it is advisable to contact your lawyer to deal with such an employee before taking any action.

As an employer, you can report an illegal immigrant on the home office website or call the immigration enforcement hotline. Although you can report anonymously, you can still provide your business details to show that you are committed to immigration compliance which will benefit you during subsequent investigations into your organisation’s employment policies.

Meanwhile, you are not duty-bound to report illegal immigrant to any authority. Nevertheless, you should consider the impact on your organisational reputation and compliance, particularly if the illegal immigrant is reported by another anonymous person outside your organisation. Besides, if you are penalized as an employer by the home office, you will have your name published in their illegal working identity publication.

Conclusion

Reporting an illegal immigrant is simple for any individual since the process is anonymous. However, as an employer, you need to seek legal advice to establish statutory excuse as a defence against home office penalties and any prospective reputational damage that might happen to your business. To have a smooth stay in any country, ensure that you have the right legal documentation. Start the process today!