They paid up to €16,000 for a job contract in Italy that did not exist. According to the Naples Migrant and Refugee Movement (MMRN), over the past four years more than 1,200 Bangladeshis have been caught in a scheme of visas obtained with fake contracts. The case was reconstructed in June by the magazine Hyphen.
How it worked
Brokers — dalal — recruited people in villages, promising work in farming, factories or textiles. They supplied contracts signed by fictitious companies or, in some cases, real ones that never intended to hire anyone. Investigators say some officials were paid with watches, phones and trips to speed up the paperwork.
In February Italy’s financial police arrested five people: three employees of the embassy in Dhaka and two Bangladeshi businessmen in Rome. Only 88 fake visas have been formally verified, but confessions suggest far higher numbers.
The victims
Many now live in Naples working off the books, often in debt to their families. At least a hundred people with similar problems visit the MMRN help desk every Thursday. Several have applied for special protection, which allows legal residence and work for two years; some courts have granted it in similar cases.
How to protect yourself
- A work visa is only issued after an employer applies through the work-permit decree.
- Check that the company exists, for example through relatives in Italy.
- Do not hand money to anyone promising a “guaranteed” visa.
