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The Documentary: A Day in the Life of an Immigration Lawyer

The Documentary: A Day in the Life of an Immigration Lawyer: A Day in the Life of an Immigration Lawyer

A Day in the Life of an Immigration Lawyer

11/08/2014 GMT

BBC World Service - The Documentary, A Day in the Life of an Immigration Lawyer, A Day in the Life of an Immigration Lawyer

Harjap Singh Bhangal gives advice to migrants seeking visas to work and live in Britain

Presenter Nihal Arthanayake meets Harjap Singh Bhangal, a UK immigration lawyer who gives advice to migrants seeking visas to work and live in Britain.

Every day, from his offices in London, Birmingham and the Punjab, Harjap Singh Bhangal gives advice to migrants who are seeking visas to live and work in the UK. Harjap often advises people from India or Pakistan who have previously applied for visas, but failed many times. Some have visited other lawyers and received incorrect advice for a large fee, while others have entered the UK legally but, due to changes in circumstances, now find themselves without a long-term visa and nowhere to go.

Presenter Nihal Arthanayake spends time in Harjap’s Southall office in London where he meets three immigrants with contrasting stories. Nihal hears from one man who left India for Moscow before walking across Europe to be smuggled into the UK in a van. A woman discusses how she was invited into Britain to work as a nurse, but spent many years on several short-term visas. Finally, another woman explains how she lost her right to stay at the age of 18 having been brought to the UK as a young child by a parent.

Nihal also hears about the many other stories Harjap encounters in his job; from the fake marriage industry – including same-sex fake marriage scams – to ‘paid babies’.

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Nihal Arthanayake visits a UK immigration lawyer who gives advice to migrants seeking visas to work and live in Britain.

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