Nigerian TikTokers are touting prison officer jobs as a quick and easy route to getting UK visas.
Prisons are recruiting foreign nationals in a desperate attempt to plug staff shortages in British jails, with 2,340 hired as wardens over the last three years, according to new figures obtained by MailOnline.
Prospective recruits are able to apply for these roles entirely online despite union leaders warning that some successful applicants are unsuitable or struggle with English.
While the Ministry of Justice declined to provide a breakdown of overseas applicants by nationality in response to a freedom of information request by MailOnline, the majority are thought to come from Nigeria.
One TikToker who advertises UK job opportunities to Nigerians said he knew someone who had been offered a prison officer job after applying ‘just last weekend’.
Describing the application process, he continued: ‘You put in the application, you do the online test, then they invite you for an interview…
‘All you have to do is go on Google and type in prison officer job. What are you waiting for – apply!’
The influencer added in a comment: ‘You don’t even need experience or a masters degree for this!!’
TikToker king_kriyl suggested it was easy to apply to become a prison officer and get a Tier 2 visa, which are reserved for skilled workers
He said he knew someone who had passed the online assessment phase in just a week – and revealed this email to prove it
The prison service has been able to sponsor skilled worker visas for overseas workers since October 2023, while some are thought to have switched from other visa routes.
Ian Acheson, a former prison governor, said the fact prison officer jobs were being hawked on social media as a shortcut to getting a British visa was proof of how ‘unattractive’ the role had become.
‘We need the best people to work in the wrecked front line of our prison system, not the only people who can be persuaded to join it as a means to an end,’ he told MailOnline.
‘Communication skills and cultural awareness is central to carrying out what used to be a vital vocational role.
‘It is an extraordinary indictment of the mismanagement of a law enforcement agency that bosses are forced to seek people to work as prison officers who were not even born in this country. That is how unattractive the job has become.’
It follows warnings by union leaders that some new recruits are unsuitable or have little or no English.
They have been particularly critical of the policy of hiring officers over Zoom and called for the return of in-person interviews.
Mark Fairhurst, chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), said in January that he knew of cases where overseas recruits ‘struggle to, or simply cannot, speak English’.
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He described the online application process as ‘simply not fit for purpose’ and warned that it could mean others sit tests for candidates to get them the job.
His words were echoed by the Prison Governors’ Association’s (PGA) Tom Wheatley, who said: ‘The scale of the levels of people from African, particularly Nigerian, origin, who are applying for jobs in the prison service, at the moment they are in the majority by a significant margin.’
The recruitment of overseas staff had created ‘communication problems’ in some prisons and could cause division where there are disproportionate numbers of foreign prison staff in remote rural areas, he previously told The House magazine.
It meant, he added, that ‘you create some other issues that are about changing the environment around the prison, and you also potentially create issues in your workforce’.
Warning of competence issues, he added: ‘Some people are getting through the assessment, it appears, and then struggling significantly once they get into the operational role and they can’t do what we think the assessment tested that they could.’
He said the demand appeared to have been fuelled by content on social media.
The POA has also warned that wardens recruited from overseas have turned up for work on their first day expecting to be handed living quarters with their job.
Mr Fairhurst told the Lords justice and home affairs committee: ‘I am hearing some horror stories… about recruits from overseas turning up at the gate with suitcases and family in tow asking, ‘Where’s my accommodation?’
‘We have had examples of overseas recruits sleeping in their cars.
‘Apparently, a bunch of overseas recruits – because they have no accommodation – have set up camp in a wooded area opposite the prison where they are working.’
Unions have warned that prisons are employing guards with little or no English in a bid to fill places amid staffing shortages
Mr Fairhurst also said another officer who was recruited remotely was later found to have cerebral palsy – meaning they could not lock or unlock cell doors, restrain prisoners or conduct rub-down searches.
He told MailOnline today: ‘As a union we value the commitment of our overseas recruits who provide essential skills within our prisons. It is unfortunate that HMPPS are setting up people to fail by not explaining the job offer to many new overseas recruits.
‘Staff sleeping in cars because accommodation is not provided is an unacceptable position. The employer needs to do better to support people who do not understand the complexities of the role.’
Applicants need to have lived in the UK for at least three years to work in a Category A prison, but this requirement does not apply to other institutions.
There are currently 23,273 prison officers employed in prisons across England and Wales.
Nigerian citizens are currently the second largest recipients of general UK work visas, with 29,700 applying in 2023 – many for jobs in health and social care.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘All staff – regardless of nationality – undergo robust assessments and training before they work in prisons. Our strengthened vetting process roots out those who fall below our high standards.’
