Fake Gay Asylum Seekers Flood UK with Tiny Donations to ‘Buy’ Proof of Homosexuality and Stay in Britain

Some Pakistani men have been making lots of small donations to the Peter Tatchell Foundation, hoping to get membership cards that they can use as “proof” that they are gay. These cards might help them convince UK immigration officials to let them stay in the country as asylum seekers.

Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ rights activist, says his charity is getting contacted by around 30 people every day who he believes are pretending to be gay. He thinks they are doing this to create fake evidence for their asylum applications. Because of this, Tatchell wrote to the head of immigration at the Home Office earlier this year to raise his concerns.

In his letter, he explained that for the past year and a half, the foundation has been receiving small donations—usually under £3—from people who often follow up by asking for membership cards or letters that support their asylum claims. Tatchell believes that many of these people are likely not genuine and are simply using the foundation’s name as part of their application strategy.

Despite this, he also said that the genuine refugees his charity has supported have proven themselves to be honest, hard-working people who have positively contributed to UK society. Any suspicious requests, he added, are looked into carefully and denied if they seem fake.

Tatchell became worried when he saw daily patterns of 15 to 30 small donations, followed by requests for documents. He believes this shows a clear attempt to misuse the system.

The UK Home Office responded by saying they take immigration fraud seriously and will take action if any abuse of the system is found.

In Pakistan, where these men are coming from, homosexuality between men is illegal and can lead to life in prison. That’s one reason why some may try to claim asylum in the UK by saying they are gay. However, the government is now being urged to be more alert to false claims, especially as efforts grow to deport foreign criminals more efficiently.