An African nurse has been sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for a year, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service, after pleading guilty to working in the UK when he did not have a UK work permit.
Zvelibanzi Mabandla, who is originally from Zimbabwe, legally entered the UK in 2000 but when he applied to remain in Britain in 2003, his application was turned down. However, he did not leave the country or continue with his work permit application, but instead he claimed he had indefinite leave to remain and took a nursing diploma at Nottingham University.
He was awarded bursary payments of £19,767 and then obtained two jobs by providing a fake resident’s permit to his employers. In the first job, with a nursing agency, he earned £30,551 net, and in the second, as a mental health nurse, he earned £40,258 net.
Mabandla admitted to three offences of fraud by false representation and six offences of possessing a false identity document at Nottingham Crown Court, the Nottingham Post reported.
Prosecuting, Simon Eckersley, said: “He said he was desperate to stay in the UK. An African person gave him a mobile to ring.
“He was told by that man to send £300 and his passport to a residential address and his passport was returned with a resident's permit in it. He believed it was a genuine document but realises by virtue of his plea it was not.”
Mabandla is currently waiting to hear whether his new application to remain in the UK will be approved by the Home Office.