Story by Charles Hymas, Mitchell Durdin
Illegal migrants are being smuggled out of the UK across the Channel to cash in on Spain’s asylum amnesty, a Telegraph investigation has found.
People-smugglers are exploiting weaker border-exit controls to sneak the migrants out of Britain and into France by hiding them in lorries to be transported across the Channel by ferry or train.
The migrants – many of whom face deportation to their home countries from the UK for overstaying their visas or working illegally – are paying up to £1,000 for the journey, which opens up the chance of free movement across almost the entire continent.
Smugglers also offer a “taxi service” for an extra £500 to take them through France and across the border to Spain, which has introduced an amnesty for illegal migrants in an attempt to boost the country’s economy.
On Thursday, 60,000 migrants stormed the Spanish exclave of Ceuta after swimming from Morocco, taking advantage of weak security. At least 57 people died, either by drowning or being crushed at the border fence.
By Friday night, some 48,000 of those who crossed the frontier had returned to Morocco, suggesting they had been led there on false pretences.
Credit: Reuters
The rush on the border triggered European leaders to call for Spain’s temporary suspension from the Schengen free-travel zone.
The number of people engaging in reverse migration out of Britain is only a fraction of the asylum seekers crossing the Channel to the UK in small boats. However, the number of videos and adverts suggests a growing trade, partly fuelled by the more “hostile” environment for illegal migrants in Britain.
The people-smuggling service is advertised on social media, with videos of the migrants travelling across the border in the back of lorries or jumping out into the French countryside on arrival at their first destination in Europe.
Some adverts are mocked up like holiday promotions, with images of tourist hotspots such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
People-smugglers are promoting their services on social media
Other adverts target migrants who have overstayed their student visa, primarily from the Indian subcontinent, who are offered a route out of the UK to escape the Home Secretary’s tough measures on the UK’s visa system and illegal working.
One video of a lorry full of migrants appeals directly to “Dunki boys”, young men from India’s regions such as Punjab and Haryana who have earned their nickname in Bollywood folklore for seeking backdoor migration routes into Western countries.
Indians and Pakistanis account for the highest number of over-stayers in the UK, with thousands switching from student, work or visitor visas to seek asylum in the UK.
The surge in migration to France has raised fears that the UK could become a staging post for illegal migrants seeking a backdoor route to Europe.
Last year, the National Crime Agency (NCA) uncovered a people-smuggling ring that brought migrants from North Africa to the UK on tourist visas, charging them up to £1,200 each to be smuggled in lorries from Dover to France.
Peter Walsh, a senior researcher at Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, said: “One of the benefits would be escaping immigration enforcement.
“The Home Office has been ramping up the enforcement infrastructure and people might believe that if they get into the Schengen [the border-free travel] zone, they will be free to travel to whatever country they like.
“They may think it’s easier to survive as a resident in Europe than in the UK.”
A people-smuggler contacted by a Telegraph undercover reporter appeared to allude to the Government’s crackdown on illegal working and its plans to double the time that migrants have to wait for indefinite leave to remain from five to 10 years.
More than 600,000 migrants out of 1.2 million who have applied in Spain’s amnesty drive have obtained temporary employment permits, enabling them to work in the formal economy.
The drive grants a one-year renewable residence permit to undocumented migrants who lived in Spain for at least five months before the end of 2025 and have no criminal record.
One video shows more than a dozen Indian migrants crammed into the back of a lorry with the headline: “UK to Spain. Game done. Dunki boys & family 100pc safety. Details inbox me.”
Another video on TikTok shows a dozen migrants in the back of a lorry, with a headline overlaid on it declaring: “UK to Europe. DM. Serious people.” Alongside it, there are images of the German, French and Belgian flags.
One of the adverts is targeted at student visa over-stayers with the headline: “UK student visa overstay” alongside a red warning triangle with an exclamation mark on it. Below it, in Hindi, are the phrases: “Now for a bright future” and “want to move” with a sign declaring: UK to Europe (France Spain).
Another states: “If your student’s UK visa has expired and you want to travel from the UK to Spain or France by road – 100 per cent safe – message me for more information.”
Adverts for people-smuggling services target migrants who have overstayed their student visa
Mr Walsh said it was easier for migrants to arrive in France undetected than in the UK. All small-boat migrants face security and immigration checks on arrival in Dover while intensive security measures are in place in the north of France for people coming to Britain.
“You have all of the infrastructure in and around the freight terminals in Calais, including CO2 probes, monitors and dogs. You don’t have that in the juxtaposed border controls [for people leaving] the UK,” he said.
However, not all migrants get through. A people-smuggling operation, led by Jaskirat Singh, transporting migrants from the UK to France was uncovered when 11 Indians were found hiding in the trailer of a lorry that was stopped at Dover in December 2024.
Singh, from Wolverhampton, is said to have made more than £180,000 by arranging the smuggling sorties across the Channel.
In a voice message seized in a raid by police, he bragged that he had successfully arranged for up to 60 people to be driven to France every week over nine months.
He was jailed in June for five years and three months at Canterbury Crown Court for conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration to a member state.
Jaskirat Singh is said to have made £180,000 through his people-smuggling operation – Crown Prosecution Service
The NCA is understood to be investigating several people-smuggling gangs taking migrants both ways across the Channel.
A source from the NCA said: “The same gangs involved in smuggling people out of the UK illegally are often involved in bringing people in too, which is why targeting them is important.
“These gangs not only threaten the border security of both the UK and France, but also risk the lives of those they transport. We have seen people utilising the services of these groups to circumvent French visa restrictions or evade law enforcement attention.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are working closely with France to prevent illegal migration attempts, which exploit national borders.
“We have delivered a record-breaking increase in disruptions to criminal smuggling activity, including arrests, convictions and seizures, rising by nearly 50 per cent in the year ending March 2026.”
