Is pretending to be gay an easy route to claim asylum?

A “shadow industry” of law advisers is charging thousands of pounds to help migrants fake their sexual orientation in order to stay in the UK – or so a BBC investigation recently found. 

The broadcaster’s reporter posed as a would-be asylum seeker, and was coached to fabricate evidence like photos at gay clubs in order to bolster his asylum application. 

The report led to several arrests. A woman was arrested on suspicion of providing an immigration service contrary to section 91 of the Immigration and Asylum Act, while a man was arrested on suspicion of fraud.

The investigation also provoked anger across the political spectrum. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the investigation “exposed the scam at the heart of many asylum claims”. Reform UK slammed the “farce” of asylum loopholes, while home secretary Shabana Mahmood pledged to hit exploiters with “the full force of the law.”

It is not a new claim. In 2023, then-home secretary Suella Braverman said migrants “purport to be homosexual” in order to “get special treatment.” So is it true?

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Is it easy to fake being gay to get asylum?

The BBC’s investigation exposed a real problem. Unscrupulous advisers do exist, and they’re exploiting vulnerable people.

The important investigation has since triggered a response from the police.

We asked experts about the scale of the issue.

Being gay or queer is a legitimate reason to claim asylum. Around 65 countries criminalise LGBTQ+ people, including 12 where it is punishable by death. But sexuality-based claims make up just 2-3% of all asylum applications – around 2,000 in 2023 – and there is no evidence that fraudulent claims in this category are widespread.

Nor is it a guaranteed route in. “I can promise you, it is not an easy process,” Rosalind Duignan-Pearson, spokesperson for LGBTQ+ asylum charity Micro Rainbow, told Big Issue. “There is no cheat formula for doing it.”

The Home Office conducts an intensive refugee status determination process involving two interviews, placing the burden of proof on the claimant to show they require protection.

In countries where homosexuality is criminalised, queer people are forced to hide their identity to survive – which means they often arrive with little documentary evidence. “If you’re from Afghanistan or Iran or Zimbabwe and they found evidence of your relationship on your phone, you’d have a serious problem,” said Duignan-Pearson.

Sometimes a Home Office interview is the first time an applicant has ever come out – but that, Duignan-Pearson says, “doesn’t mean they’re faking it”.

Previous Big Issue reporting has shown how applicant are driven to “desperate measures” in their search for proof – including submitting evidence of watching pornography and intimate photos. One applicant claimed to know the complete works of Oscar Wilde.

The existence of rogue advisors does not point to a broader problem of fakery, she added, but to the problems within the system.

“The big story here is that there are rogue actors – not lawyers, not qualified legal advisors – who are exploiting vulnerable people,” said Duignan-Pearson.

“But it doesn’t work, these actors are not succeeding in anything except enriching themselves.”

Micro Rainbow was one of over 100 organisations that signed a statement decrying how government cuts to aid drive people to rogue advisors.

“People need immigration advice to navigate a system that is confusing, overwhelming and often retraumatising,” the letter warned. “Government cuts to legal aid have left a dangerous dearth of quality, accessible advice across the country, meaning people struggle to find proper legal representation to help with their cases.”

In the year ending December 2025, more than half of all asylum claims – not just sexuality – were rejected at the initial stage.

The government recently announced a £662 million plan with France that will involve drafting 50 riot police onto Northern French beaches. Last year, home secretary Mahmood announced tougher asylum laws including an end to permanent refugee status.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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