Four Scottish businesses have been caught employing illegal immigrants after UK immigration officials conducted spot checks across the restaurants.
Employers across the four businesses now face fines totalling £160,000 if they fail to prove they carried out the correct document checks before employing the staff members.
The intelligence led operation saw UK immigration officials visit Tandoori Hut, Istanbul Fast Foods, Seven Spices in Hamilton and Seven Spices in Larkhall, each of which will face a £20,000 penalty for each illegal worker found.
If the businesses fail to provide proof that Home Office document checks were completed, Istanbul Fast Foods could face a fine of £60,000, Tandoori Hut and Seven Spices in Larkhall could face a fine of £40,000 each, and Seven Spices in Hamilton could face a fine of £20,000.
According to details provided by officials, five of the men arrested were suspected to have overstayed their student visas, while the others were thought to have entered the UK illegally.
Commenting on the arrests, Ian Tyldesley of Immigration Enforcement in Scotland, said: “We are happy to work with businesses to explain the simple pre-employment checks needed to establish a person's right to work in the UK, but to those who choose to ignore the rules the message is clear - we will find you and you will face a heavy financial penalty.”
Until proof is provided that adequate document checks were completed ahead of their employment at these businesses, the eight men discovered will be detained pending deportation from the UK.
Wife arrested after UK visa issue ahead of vow renewal
A British husband is engaged in battle with the Home Office after his wife was detained over UK visa issues after arriving to renew her vows.
According to Mike Harbrow, he has hoped to renew his wedding vows to his wife Jihyeon in front of his mother, who is terminally ill, but instead she was locked in a cell upon her arrival in Britain.
Mr Harbrow has stated that he made preparations for her arrival with the Home Office, following all of their instructions ahead of her arrival for a six months stay.
However, he revealed that Mrs Harbrow was eventually denied entry to Britain and sent back to South Korea after being treated “like a criminal”.
“When I tried to reason with them on the day for six or seven hours on the phone they just wouldn’t budge,” he said. “They arrested her under some section of a law and she was in a cell like a criminal.”
Commenting on the incident, a Home Office spokesman said Mrs Harbrow had failed to meet UK immigration rules. He said: “It is open to any non-EEA national wishing to settle in the UK, including those wishing to join their spouse, to apply for the relevant visa.”