A Mauritian immigrant has been deported after masquerading as an journalism graduate.
The 28-year-old, of Martin Way in Morden, admitted to paying £7,000 for a false certificate for an MA in International Journalism from City University in London, and other papers from that university.
She had entered the country under a student visa in 2009 but had never studied at the university and used the false documents to support her application to remain in the UK as a highly skilled migrant.
The woman accepted a conditional caution for the fraud and was sent back to Mauritius on Tuesday, July 23, and banned from entering the UK for five years.
This is only the third time a conditional caution has been used by the Home office to remove an offender having been introduced by the government in April 2013.
Conditional cautions are designed to quickly remove low level offenders who are likely to receive a custodial sentence of less than two years and who have no leave to enter or remain in the UK.
Jill Smith, head of the Home Office Immigration Enforcement team in South London, said: "This new way of dealing with foreign national offenders is a useful deterrent for people who abuse the UK’s immigration rules in this way.
"It also frees up prison space, saving money for the taxpayer.
"Our teams are out in London every day arresting and detaining those with no right to be here. We have no intention of slowing down."
Anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.
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