Illegal working arrests and visits hit record high, says Home Office

Some 12,791 visits took place in 2025, up 57% from 8,122 in the previous year, to businesses such as nail bars, car washes, barbers and takeaway shops.

Ministers are seeking to crack down on illegal working in the UK, as part of efforts to deter those coming to the country illegally.

Meanwhile, arrests were also at a record high of 8,971 last year, up nearly 59% compared to 5,647 in 2024 - the previous highest point in data published by the Home Office.

Of those arrested, 1,087 people have been removed from the UK so far.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "There is no place for illegal working in our communities.

"That is why we have surged enforcement activity to the highest level in British history so illegal migrants in the black economy have nowhere to hide.

"I will stop at nothing to restore order and control to our borders."

The Home Office also said visits were up 77% and arrests were up 83% since Labour came to power.

Some 17,483 visits and 12,322 arrests were recorded between July 2024 and December last year, up from 9,894 and 6,725 respectively across January 2023 to June 2024.

Of the arrests, 1,726 people have been returned so far, up 35% on the 1,283 removed from visits in the previous 18-month period.

Among visits by immigration enforcement, officers arrested 13 people at a warehouse in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, on November 25 which led to 11 Brazilian and Romanian nationals being detained for removal from the UK.

On December 16, officers arrested 30 Indian and Albanian men at a construction site in Swindon, Wiltshire, the Home Office said, nearly all of whom were detained for removal from the UK, including five released on immigration bail.

Home Office director for enforcement teams, Eddy Montgomery, said: "While this is a great achievement, our activity won't stop here, we will continue to bear down on this criminality in our towns, cities and villages to ensure there is no hiding place from immigration laws."

Immigration enforcement was given £5 million to arrest, detain and remove migrants working illegally at sites such as takeaways, beauty salons and car washes.

Officers have also been wearing body-worn cameras since September to help with arrests and prosecutions.

Elsewhere, tighter right-to-work checks have also been introduced under the Government's new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, forcing casual, temporary or subcontracted workers to have to prove their status.

Employers who fail to carry out checks could face up to five years in prison, fines of £60,000 for each illegal worker they have employed, and having their business closed.