TWO men who helped more than 1,000 UK visa applicants to fraudulently pass English language tests have had their sentences increased.

Muhammad Bilal, 36, Mehboob Jilani, 33, and three other men ran three colleges in Manchester where candidates were charged £500 to have an English-speaker take a test to prove their proficiency for UK visa applications.

Bilal and Jilani were originally sentenced for conspiracy to defraud to two and four years’ imprisonment respectively at Burnley Crown Court in June 2019.

Yesterday, the Court of Appeal increased Bilal’s sentence to four years’ imprisonment and Jilani’s to six years. They were also disqualified from being company directors.

Anthony Hilton, from Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigations, said: “This ruling recognises the seriousness of the offences and sends a strong deterrent message to those who attempt to commit immigration crimes.”