Legal advisers help migrants pose as gay to get asylum, undercover BBC investigation finds

The BBC investigation highlighted how the UK's asylum process, designed to protect individuals in danger in their home countries, is being systematically exploited. The report indicates that a significant portion of these asylum claims, now 35% of all applications, come from individuals whose student, work, or tourist visas have expired, rather than those who recently arrived through other routes. Asylum claims in the UK topped 100,000 in 2025.

Undercover reporters, posing as international students from Pakistan and Bangladesh facing expiring visas, were approached by individuals offering assistance in making false asylum claims. One instance involved an event in East London organized by "Worcester LGBT," a group claiming to support gay and lesbian asylum seekers. Attendees at this event openly admitted to reporters that the majority present were not genuinely gay.

An adviser associated with the group reportedly encouraged a reporter to claim asylum on false grounds, stating that this method was widely adopted. The adviser allegedly told the reporter, "There is nobody who is real. There is only one way out in order to live here now and that is the very method everyone is adopting."