BBC investigation reveals Britain's "Global Talent Visa" counterfeit industry: agents help immigrants pretend to be artists and technology professionals

A BBC investigation found that a company provides services to help immigrants pretend to be artists or technology professionals with outstanding talents and use the UK's fast-track immigration program to apply for visas with false information.

The British government launched the "Global Talent visa" in 2020, aiming to attract the "best and most outstanding" scientists and researchers from around the world. This visa is also open to applications by artistic creators.

The Home Office is revoking the visas of two Nigerian men following a BBC investigation. The pair claimed to be art photographers, but authorities believed they obtained the visas fraudulently.

Applicants for the Global Talent Visa do not need to undergo an interview, but must prove that they have outstanding talent or development potential in their field. After being granted a visa, they can travel to the UK with their families and have the opportunity to obtain permanent residency after three or five years.

The BBC has discovered that some wealthy immigrants hoping to exploit loopholes in the system can pay high fees to obtain fake art collections and pass them off as their own works.

A consultant for a London company told a BBC undercover reporter posing as a potential client that the company could provide art produced in China and arrange exhibitions, media coverage and letters of recommendation.

He claimed that no client who had purchased an "all-inclusive package" worth more than £100,000 in the past had their Global Talent visa applications rejected.

As for the two Nigerian men, the BBC initially received clues that a newspaper had published a suspected forged article commenting on their artistic works.

Molara Wood, a well-known Nigerian art critic, told the BBC that someone published an article online praising the two seemingly unknown artists, but falsely used her signature.

Wood said: "There is a serious problem now, that is, some people are planting false articles on newspaper websites and using the bylines of well-known cultural journalists."

The BBC also interviewed another woman. She once applied for a global talent visa in India through the technology talent pathway. She said a company she hired falsified her application, including fictitious mentorship awards and information that made it appear she had been a speaker at an event. Her application was ultimately rejected.

The Home Office described the BBC's findings as "extremely serious" and said the company that offered the undercover reporter a £100,000 package was under investigation.

A Home Office spokesman said the authorities "will not tolerate anyone deceptively abusing the UK immigration system".

The spokesman added that the government was reviewing the global talent visa scheme and "the Home Secretary will take all necessary action to prevent abuse of the scheme".

"It doesn't matter whether you are an artist or not"

The man who told the BBC that he could produce art works for clients in China claimed to be from iCareer Consultancy UK, a company based in Canary Wharf, London.

Its sister company ADArt Global Ltd is also located in the same location and is registered with the relevant regulatory agencies of the British government to provide immigration consulting services.

iCareer employees posted on social media promoting the Global Talent Visa to wealthy Chinese citizens, claiming it was a way to immigrate to the UK without knowing English.

The BBC undercover reporter spoke to the iCareer consultant on the phone in Mandarin and later met with him. The consultant revealed:

At least four clients have successfully obtained global talent visas this year, and he hinted that 10 more are currently applying.

The company can arrange for an employee to pose as a client, attend gallery openings and network with industry figures to assist in amassing the evidence needed for a visa application.

For an additional £28,000, journalists can win a Chinese art prize sponsored by Forbes magazine to further enhance their visa application.

iCareer denies selling visa services and claims the consultant left before the BBC undercover reporter was contacted - although his name was still listed on the company's website at the time and he provided the reporter with a contract with the company's name and contact email address.

The BBC has previously investigated false asylum claims, revealing how law firms and consultants helped immigrants pretend to be gay in order to obtain asylum. After the investigation was published, the BBC received reports about iCareer activities and launched this investigation.

iCareer was established in 2018. The office is located in a shared work space and promotes externally to provide job search and career counseling services.

A consultant who calls himself Peter has posted several times on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.

In February this year, he boasted in a post that it didn’t matter whether the applicant was an artist or not; his services were “all-inclusive” and approval was guaranteed. The post said that even if the client is not an artist, it can be done because the company even handles art works.

Peter's real name is Guan Shilong (Shilong Guan, transliteration). He said in another video that he recommended the Arts Global Talent Visa because all other ways to obtain permanent residence in the UK have "extremely high requirements" on English proficiency.

He posted on another social media platform using the account "iCareerPeter", which included the names of some of the applicants who were said to have been approved, but parts of the names had been obscured.

The BBC was unable to verify Peter's claims, but Harjap Singh Bhangal, a senior immigration lawyer who has reviewed the entire investigation, said that assisting others to impersonate artists in this way constitutes a "well-planned fraud".

The purpose of the entire arrangement, he explained, "was an attempt to deceive the Home Office and the visa approval agency into believing that I was a real applicant and a real artist."

Although the Global Talent Visa was launched by the Conservative government, the current Labor government has also actively promoted this plan, although the government has also tightened other immigration regulations in an attempt to reduce net migration.

In 2025, approximately 6,600 global talent visa applications will be approved, while the number of applications in the arts and culture category will nearly double between 2023 and 2025.

The application must be approved by the relevant agency. The recognized body for the arts and culture category is Arts Council England. Last year, the committee received nearly 3,500 applications, of which slightly less than half were recognized.

The only exemption from this recognition process is if the applicant has received a major award. For example, in the film and television field, applicants must have won an award in a major Oscar, Bafta or Golden Globe category.

Arts Council England told the BBC that it takes allegations of fraud seriously and will investigate if there is evidence that application information may be misleading or fraudulent.

Peter told the BBC undercover reporter that even if she didn't have any artistic background and didn't understand English, it wouldn't be a problem. He said he could help her apply for a visa for artists with "outstanding potential."

"We'll take care of all the production of your art," he explains, adding that it's cheaper to commission works from Chinese artists than to have them produced in the UK.

Journalists will receive up to 15 works and must pay approximately 10,000 yuan (£1,120) for shipping from Beijing to London.

Peter explains that available art forms include painting, illustration, sculpture, installation art, digital art and photography.

Peter said that in order to assist journalists in applying for visas, iCareer will arrange exhibitions and media reports that review their works. He said some of the information would be backdated, making it appear that she had been engaged in art creation for some time.

During the phone call and subsequent face-to-face meeting, Peter also explained how he could help the reporter win a prestigious award for Chinese artists sponsored by the American media company Forbes.

Peter said that if the reporter can win the "Forbes China Future Artists Awards", it will help his visa application, but he will have to pay an additional RMB 250,000 (£28,000). If no prize is awarded, the money will be refunded.

The BBC checked with Forbes, who confirmed that the award does exist and that iCareer's sister company ADArt is one of the sponsors.

"Forbes" stated that the review process was conducted in accordance with "Forbes' global high standards" and was conducted by the Forbes China editorial team and assisted by professional reviewers.

Peter added that as part of the visa fraud scheme, journalists were required to complete some "work experience... either online or in person."

The reporter asked him how he could do this if he didn't understand English.

Peter responded that this was not a problem at all because his colleagues could do it for her, even posing as undercover reporters at gallery openings to network with industry people on her behalf.

Peter said the officials responsible for approving visas "won't look at the photos."

He explained that the entire process will take at least two years, meaning journalists will not be ready to apply for visas until the end of 2028 or early 2029.

The fee for this "all-inclusive" visa service is RMB 880,000 (approximately £98,000), paid in three instalments. If the reporter chooses to pay in pounds sterling, an additional 20% VAT must be paid.

During the call, Peter sent reporters a contract outlining how iCareer would provide "necessary approval materials" for visa applications.

The reporter asked him if there was a chance that the application would not be approved.

Peter replied: "This is impossible. We will help you until there is a result."

He added that journalists can receive refunds if their application is rejected based on the materials provided by iCareer.

Immigration lawyer Bangal said what Peter sent to the BBC was "an illegal contract".

The BBC later called Peter to question the claims he made to undercover reporters. He denied being willing to assist others in impersonating artists or arranging for others to produce works of art on their behalf.

"We're not doing anything wrong or illegal, all of our artists are real artists," he told the BBC.

iCareer later said through lawyers that Peter had left his job in early October, shortly before he spoke to the BBC undercover reporter. The company also strongly denies "providing any form of visa services."

The company said: "The interview described by the BBC was not authorized by iCareer. We do not agree with the statements he made or support the services purportedly provided by him."

The company added that it was not aware that Peter and another employee had posted on social media promoting such services and would launch an investigation.

iCareer said that ADArt, which has the same owner as it, “signs contracts with artists and assists them in curating exhibitions and establishing professional relationships.”

Peter had previously described ADArt to a BBC undercover reporter as another division of the iCareer Group.

Before the BBC contacted iCareer, Peter's name was listed on the company's website as a staff list, as well as on his LinkedIn profile. iCareer said this was due to a moment of negligence on the part of the company.

The BBC undercover reporter met Peter at a shared workspace in the same building in Canary Wharf where iCareer and ADArt are located. He also provided reporters with iCareer's brochure and a contract with the iCareer company's email address.

Two people’s visas were revoked

Immigration lawyer Bangal said he has no doubt that some false applications can successfully slip through.

The Tribune told the BBC it had identified "an employee who uploaded these articles to our website without authorization".

The newspaper said that the employee admitted that "the article was provided by a person outside the organization" but denied that he had been paid.

Wood said the comments posted in her name were of low quality, as were the works of art they reviewed.

She said: "These are not words that I want to be associated with. Those pictures are not worthy of comment at all."

Wood said other art critics have been in the same situation.

Artists applying for the Global Talent Visa must provide at least two recent media reports that review or introduce their work.

The two men who are said to have been the subject of comments by Wood are Silva Ndifon and Adanu Emmanuel Okoko. Both are believed to be currently living in the UK.

Although one of them displayed a portfolio online, it did not include the type of artistic photography described in the article written by Wood under his name.

The other appears to have little to no connection to photography or other artistic fields other than the article Wood found.

Neither man responded to the BBC's request for comment. After the BBC contacted the British Home Office, it was understood that the authorities were proceeding with the process of revoking the visas of the two people.