"you parted with money to obtain documents you wanted."
Nurul Islam, aged 39, of no fixed abode, was jailed for a year after he stayed in the UK under a false identity.
Swansea Crown Court heard he spent years living illegally in Wales. Islam even paid £2,000 for a fake application in order to deceive authorities into letting him stay in the country.
In his application to the Home Office between May 26 and June 16, 2015, Islam used the name and date of birth of a Birmingham man named Alaur Rahman despite never meeting him.
During the three-day trial, Bangladeshi national Islam had arrived in the UK in 2010 to live with his aunt and uncle in Swansea after police began looking for him in his home country due to his support for the Bangladesh National Party.
Islam was granted a visa on May 10, 2010, to stay in the UK for six months.
He ended up overstaying in the country between 2010 and 2015 in the knowledge he was doing so illegally. During this time he worked at the West Cross Tandoori restaurant.
Islam, who cannot speak, read or write English, made another application in 2015 for ‘no time limit’ leave under the name of Mr Rahman while using his own photo and Swansea address.
On the first day of the trial, the jury heard that Mr Rahman was a real person. He had previously applied for an indefinite stay in the UK in 2002.
In 2008, Mr Rahman successfully obtained an actualisation as a British citizen in a legitimate application and was subsequently issued a certificate.
Islam gave evidence on the second day. He said he paid £2,000 in instalments for help completing an application with the help of Sujan Ali Chowdhury, a friend he met at the restaurant.
Mr Chowdhury then took Islam to a solicitor named Sheikh Usman.
In a separate trial, Usman was jailed for seven years for conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law by a non-EU person.
With the help of a translator, Islam explained that he did not suspect any wrongdoings because he was taken to a British solicitor and “didn’t think a legal person would do anything fraudulent”.
He claimed that due to his inability to understand English, he was unable to read the documents that he signed.
Islam was found guilty of obtaining leave to remain in the UK by deception. He was also convicted of being in possession of an identity document of improper mention, a Bangladeshi passport relating to someone else on May 27, 2015.
Judge Keith Thomas told Islam: “You had entered the country on a six-month visa but that visa had long expired.
“I’m satisfied on the evidence that you parted with money to obtain documents you wanted. Other more sophisticated criminals took on the job of obtaining false documents for you.
“Nevertheless there is a good deal of public concern about false immigration documents and the danger they present to the country.
“For that reason, only a custodial sentence can be justified for such offending. You have no legitimate right at the moment to be in this country.
“It would be wrong for me to consider a non-custodial sentence.”
Birmingham Mail reported that Islam was jailed for one year for using a false identity.
Judge Thomas added:
“The home secretary will have to consider whether you will have to be deported. If you are not deported you will be released after you serve half of that sentence.”
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