Arrests for illegal working have soared to their highest levels
since records began, following an uplift in enforcement action.
Under Operation Sterling, the government invested £5 million into
Immigration Enforcement, to target, arrest, detain, deport and
return illegal workers in takeaways, fast food drivers, beauty
salons and car washes.
New figures show more than 8,000 illegal migrants have been
arrested after 11,000 raids were carried out by Immigration
Enforcement from October 2024 to September 2025.
Marking the largest enforcement crackdown on illegal working
since records began, the data reveals a significant increase year
on year of 63% and 51% for arrests and visits, respectively. Over
1,050 foreign nationals encountered on these operations have been
removed from the country.
This comes as government is expanding right to work checks under
tough new laws, to ensure it covers categories of employers where
there are higher levels of illegal migrants seeking work,
including gig economy employers.
While it is a criminal offence for migrants to work illegally,
only companies using traditional employer to employee contracts
are obliged to verify someone's immigration status and whether it
permits them to work in the UK.
The new laws close this loophole so there will be no hiding place
for illegal workers who flout the rules in the gig, casual,
subcontracted and temporary worker economy.
Bosses who fail to conduct these checks could be jailed for up to
five years, face fines of £60,000 per illegal worker and have
their businesses closed.
Cracking down on illegal working also addresses an incentive to
come to Britain illegally, by taking steps to shrink the black
economy and penalise rogue employers who ignore immigration
rules.
Home Secretary , said:
Illegal working creates an incentive for people attempting to
arrive in this country illegally. No more.
Those found to be illegally working in beauty salons, car washes
and as delivery drivers will be arrested, detained and removed
from this country.
I will do whatever it takes to secure Britain's borders.
To further ensure people can only work in the UK if they have
permission, the government announced last month it will be
introducing digital ID, which will be mandatory to prove
someone's right to work by the end of Parliament.
Digital ID is another tool in the government's armoury to attack
every aspect of smuggling gangs' business model. It will make it
harder for illegal migrants to find work, and harder for rogue
employers to hire illegal workers. Digitising checks will mean
government is able to identify rogue employers who are
failing to conduct checks.
In short, it will create a simpler, more consistent way for
employers to check someone's right to work. As everyone will need
a digital ID to prove their right to work, it will make it harder
for people to avoid checks or use forged documents as
proof.
The measures build on this government's work to restore order to
the immigration system and end the lure of illegal working that
gangs use to sell spaces on small boats. To further deter
migrants from making these life-threatening journeys, small boat
arrivals are now being detained and returned under the landmark
UK-France deal. Furthermore, 35,000 people with no right to be in
the UK have been returned – with the rate of removal up 13% under
this government.
A six-week consultation – launching on the Right to Work changes
will seek views and information on existing recruitment
processes, how businesses use different working arrangements
themselves and within supply chains. The aim is to ensure
businesses get the guidance they need to roll out the tougher
checks, clarifying when these checks need to take place and how
to do them.
On top of this, the government is working closely with industry
partners including food delivery giants Deliveroo, Just Eat and
Uber Eats, who have strengthened ID verification checks across
their platforms. The Home Office has also implemented a data
sharing agreement with the firms, to securely share locations of
hotels used for asylum accommodation, in a bid to catch asylum
seekers working illegally as delivery riders.
