Fruit Pickers Facing Debts Of £5,500 Before Entering UK

Migrant fruit pickers coming to the UK to work on farms are being saddled with debts of up to £5,500 before they arrive, a report into the seasonal worker visa scheme has found.

- HOLLY BANCROFT

The workers, many of whom come from central Asian countries, are paying £1,231 on average to middlemen who help them get jobs through the government's seasonal worker scheme. Those from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Nepal and Indonesia are forking out the most to come to the UK, with many returning to their home countries in a worse financial situation than when they started.

Most workers interviewed by researchers - 72 per cent reported taking out a loan to cover the costs of coming to the UK. One 32-year-old woman from Kazakhstan, named in the report as Amina, told academics: "A lot of people in Kazakhstan have sold their belongings or their assets just to have enough money to come here. Hoping that it would be better here and they can earn more money.

"Can you imagine? Sold everything they owned. There are some people who leave their jobs to come here, because they are told that it would be better here. They see it on TikTok, Telegram or Instagram videos and everything looks perfect and beautiful. But once they arrive here, it's completely different. It is just an image, a deception."