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Dr Masimba Mavaza

As we approach the end of 2023, Zimbabweans in the UK look back at the year with great amusement. They  have made history and some of the events have shaken the very pillars of humanity.

A windfall which changed the lives of many Zimbabweans in diaspora came in the form of what has become to be known as Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).

Many Zimbabweans have been able to come to the UK in two years through the skilled migrant scheme.

A CoS is an electronic document that proves that a licenced UK employer or educational establishment has offered a job or place of study to a suitable and genuine migrant.

The certificate is necessary for migrant workers who are applying for the skilled worker visa or temporary worker visa.

As a UK employer, you will need to hold a valid sponsorship licence to apply for the Certificate of Sponsorship for each employee you bring over.

The COS contains the details of the person it is granted to, the details of the sponsoring organisation, a start and expiry date, and a unique CoS reference number. Candidates must have a CoS before they can apply for a work or study visa.

The CoS number is used by UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) to check that visa applicants have a valid and suitable CoS for the type of visa requested.

By issuing a CoS, the sponsor is confirming that the candidate meets the conditions of the visa they will require.

In the case of employment, by providing a CoS to an overseas worker, the employer is confirming that the person has the skills necessary, the job being offered meets the required skill level, and the salary on offer meets the minimum requirement.

With the British enrolling people into voluntary slavery disguised as skilled worker programme or COS, Zimbabweans took full advantage and went on to abuse the system allowed them to work in the UK.

This scheme was aimed at ensuring that employers can recruit staff from anywhere in the world as quickly as possible. Taking advantage of this system, an opportunity to flood the UK with Zimbabweans was thrown wide open.

When a skilled worker gets a certificate, he is allowed to bring his wife and his children.

At the same time some Zimbabweans made millions by selling the COS unlawfully though.

They then decided to bring the whole clan so when one persons gets a visa, they will then enter  into a sham marriage with his relatives and then make arrangements to have the marriage certificate backdated.

They will then proceed to acquire fake birth certificates to claim that they are their children.

Armed with these fake documents, they approach the British embassy to apply for a visa. The visas are then issued to the bogus family that will come to the UK  as dependants of the skilled worker.

The corruption is so deep-rooted and spreads from the birth and death registry to the king’s country.

The scandals have prompted the British Home office into implementing tough laws meant to deal with this corruption.

Now the deals then turned another level. The holders of the COS  visas started charging those willing to come to England thousands of pounds so that they can be accepted as bogus spouses.

The chain of corruption runs so deep to an extent that on the 4 December 2023, the UK government announced a five-point plan to curb migration and make its immigration policy “fair, legal and sustainable.”

The changes are set to go into effect in spring 2024. The five-point plan proposes the following changes

The minimum salary requirement for skilled workers will increase from GBP £26 200 to £38 700;

The authorities will reform the shortage occupation list, which is expected to lead to a reduction in the number of applicants eligible for shortage occupations;

The minimum income requirement for the spouse of a British national will increase from £18 600 to £38 700, in line with the increase in the minimum salary requirement for Skilled Workers;

The government will ask the Migration Advisory Committee to review the graduate route to “prevent abuse and to protect the integrity and quality of UK higher education”; and

Overseas care workers will not be able to bring in dependents to the UK. Firms that seek to sponsor care workers to come to the UK will need to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission.

When Zimbabweans get entangled in this web of corruption they then resort to dirty tactics to silence their victims.

They then threaten deportation or withdrawal of COS which is a common abuse tactic capitalizing on fears surrounding immigration enforcement. This has been directed at their family members or loved ones.

The COS windfall has created millionaires among Zimbabwean employers selling the COs.

Then the go-between also make millions by facilitating the deals while officers in the birth and death registry make money by selling birth’s certificates.

The corruption has given the country a bad name to an extent of forcing the British government to tighten immigration laws.

There goes 2023.

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