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Crackdown on Albanians who lied about fleeing Kosovo war
Last updated at 12:07pm on 15.06.07Hundreds of successful asylum seekers could have their British citizenship revoked after investigators uncovered a massive immigration fraud.
The Home Office is targeting Albanians who claimed to be victims of the war in Kosovo.
According to the Daily Mail's sister paper, the Evening Standard, more than 80,000 refugees settled in Britain when Nato expelled Serbian forces from the province amid accusations of "ethnic cleansing" in 1999.
More than 80,000 refugees fled to Britain claiming to be victims of the war in Kosovo, but were they all genuine?
Now the Home Office has evidence that many were not refugees fleeing the war but economic migrants from neighbouring Albania who adopted fake Kosovar identities to claim asylum.
The clampdown, launched last month, is being aimed at those whose identities have been checked and proved false - genuine refugees from the Kosovo conflict are not affected.
The precise number of those involved is not known, but dozens of letters are thought to have been sent out so far, with more to come as information is gathered.
London's 25,000-strong Albanian community has been thrown into panic by the move, with internet forums flooded with posts from people anxious about their future in Britain.
A genuine asylum seeker, who was given permission to remain, said: "It's been an open secret for years that thousands of Albanians were getting refugee status here by saying they were from Kosovo. It used to be the fasttrack route into Britain and lots of people took it.
"There was a network that included traffickers and intermediaries. People were told to say they were from Kosovo - it never failed."
Many of those facing expulsion have jobs, mortgages and British passports, with children who speak English and are at school here.
The Home Office letters warn that those suspected of getting a passport by deception could face three months in jail or a £5,000 fine.
This week, another letter was sent out by the Border and Immigration Agency, ordering those suspected of trickery to hand in their passports.
The letter adds that the passport and certificate of naturalisation will be retained "until this matter is resolved".
Another letter said their application for citizenship would be re-assessed, causing confusion because those affected are not sure if they are going to be deported.
The clampdown began when British embassy officials in the Albanian capital, Tirana, examined applications from so-called Kosovars who had been given leave to remain in Britain and wanted to bring their families over as well.
Embassy staff noted that the families all seemed to be from Albania, not Kosovo, and further checks revealed that a massive fraud had been operating for years.
A Home Office spokesman said: "We believe British citizenship should be a gold standard. Whenever we receive evidence of fraud we will investigate.
"Where we can prove fraud we will strip individuals of their citizenship and remove them from the country."
Reader views (10)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
if Albania`s lied about their identity where was the home office before, and they are thinking of take their passports a way, how about their children that were born here in the UK. this is all joke and yeah there are people in this world that they may lie to have a better life, but they cant blame all Albania`s for 1 or 10 cases like that.
You know what home office should do? Leave the good people getting on with their life's that have settled in here, and fight the crime instead.
- Dan, Banbury
Being married to an Albanian man for 7years now I know that lots of people he knows were given passports under the assumption they were Kosovan. What for them now? It is hard not to take the easy option when you are looking for a better life. People in this country are so quick to judge lets hope none of us are ever in the position to have leave our country and rely on the compassion of another one. Albanians are seen as the new scum of Britain and this is unfair, unjust and downright racist!
- Dawn, Northampton
I am also a young woman from Kosovo, like many others I came here for a better and a safer chance of life. It annoys me that only now the Home Office have realised this...I believe they knew this before but were ashamed to admit their mistakes as the British Government only holds their hands up to something when they get caught. I strongly believe that Albanians like me came here for similar reason and I m sure any human being promised of a better life in another part of the world would jump at the chance. I've been in the UK for over 9 years and I m almost 19 and at University. I think those who have left had good reasons to do so. These people put their lives at risk to make it into this country - something an English person would never understand, especially the sacrifices we had to go through.
The Home Office should turn its attention on other important matters and they should leave these refugees in a peace of mind. They are only trying to correct their mistakes but it is now too late, because the concequences of these refugees being deported could be disastarous, i think they should catch those fraudsters who dont pay taxes and ect and leave the past where it belongs.
- Kristina, London
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