Visa applications: nine years for aiding illegal entries

An immigration solicitor who police say forged documents to help clients gain entry to the UK illegally was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment this week.


Chris Christodoulides, who had offices in London and Romania, pleaded guilty to charges against him at Croydon Crown Court this month.


He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years' imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud the home secretary and the same sentence for conspiracy to facilitate illegal entry into the UK, to run concurrently. He was also jailed for 18 months for attempting to pervert the course of justice, which will run consecutively.


At one point Christodoulides was reported to have been responsible for half of all visa applications to the UK from Romania under the European Community Association Agreements scheme, which was intended for people looking to set up their own business in the UK.


According to the police, he submitted large quantities of bogus applications to the British embassy in Bucharest between 2001 and 2004.


They said Christodoulides charged Romanian clients £2,000 a time for organising the paperwork to 'guarantee' their entry into the UK and he forged birth certificates, criminal records and bank statements.


Christodoulides was arrested following a lengthy operation by a Metropolitan Police team, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, and the Romanian authorities. A Law Society spokesman said it was starting disciplinary proceedings against him.