As many as a thousand UK visa applicants have been turned away by the UK mission here and face a 10-year ban on travel to Britain for presenting false documents in the past nine months. A few among them have even landed in jail. One among them is cook Chandran of Kumbakonam, who was arrested on Friday, seeking a tier-1 visa (highly skilled migrant) with fake experience papers.

Police said that Chandran (48), had applied for UK visa and claimed that he had worked in a star hotel in Egmore for a few years. During the interview he had said that he wanted to fly to Britain for a job in a hotel. On verification, Chandran’s ‘experience certificate’ was found to be a fake. The UK Border Agency (UKBA) officials, based at the mission, immediately stepped in and alerted the city police. A senior police officer said Chandran was arrested by the city police even as he was hoping to get his passport stamped with the British visa.

“Almost 1,000 visa applicants have had their visa applications refused by the UKBA in Chennai in the first nine months this year and face a 10-year ban on travel to the UK because they presented false documents”, said UKBA entry clearance manager Ms. Gemma Dodgson.