“We must end low-skill mass immigration"
Takeaways in the UK are allegedly creating a “visa loophole” for migrants, with over 3,600 takeaways eligible to sponsor skilled worker visas.
The visas allow foreign nationals to live and work in the UK, provided they meet certain requirements around their job, salary and language skills.
Skilled worker visa holders are required to earn at least £41,700 per year.
The Telegraph reported that nearly half of the 122,740 businesses permitted to sponsor the entry permits are involved in low-pay industries.
Nearly one in 10 are classed as “restaurants and mobile food service activities”, including around 5,000 restaurants, 3,600 takeaway and mobile food stands, and just over 2,600 unlicensed restaurants, where median annual earnings are just under £30,000.
More than 1,000 takeaways in London alone are entitled to sponsor the visas, including at least 100 chicken, kebab or pizza delivery restaurants.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said:
“These shocking revelations demonstrate the scale of the abuse of the system by unscrupulous people facilitating mass migration. It has to end.
“Labour has let the skilled worker route become a back door for cheap labour, and every dodgy visa waved through undercuts British workers and makes fools of the taxpayers left footing the bill.
“We must end low-skill mass immigration, which is why the Conservative Party will put a binding cap on immigration and tighten the eligibility for visas.”
The criticism comes as Shabana Mahmood faces backlash from Labour MPs over efforts to tighten the immigration system.
Under changes being introduced from December 2026, employers will have to pay more to sponsor skilled worker visas, with the immigration skills charge increasing by 32%. Migrants will also need to demonstrate English language proficiency at an A-level standard.
According to The Telegraph, many of the 1,000 restaurants, takeaways and cafes in London that have sought permission to sponsor skilled worker visas are located in some of the capital’s most affluent postcodes, with 330 based in Westminster alone.
Nearly 400 of the 1,000 businesses reportedly employ fewer than five people.
The findings come ahead of the Budget, in which Chancellor John Healey is expected to exempt thousands of smaller firms from business rates and reduce red tape to give British high streets “breathing space”.
Ed Woodall, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, said:
“Many high streets have been in decline because dodgy shops are operating outside of the law, including not implementing proper employment practices.
“We need the government to focus on funding enforcement agencies, like trading standards and the new Fair Work agency, to tackle unscrupulous businesses that bend the rules to get a competitive advantage.”
According to the Government, to qualify for a skilled worker visa, you must:
- Work for a UK employer that has been approved by the Home Office
- Have a “certificate of sponsorship” from the employer with information about the role offered
- Do a job on the list of eligible occupations
- Be paid a minimum salary – how much depends on the type of work done and the date you got your sponsorship certificate
- Be able to speak, read, write and understand English
The findings have also drawn criticism from Reform UK, with Zia Yusuf saying:
“When a takeaway with four staff can sponsor a ‘skilled worker’ supposedly earning £41,700, in a sector where median pay is under £27,500, something just isn’t adding up.
“The skilled worker visa is being exploited as a back door into Britain, and Labour are allowing it to continue. Reform will end this scam. We will audit every visa sponsor and prosecute fraudsters.”
