Home Office Licenses 150 Kebab Shops to Import Labor Amid Youth Job Crisis
More than 150 kebab shops now hold government licenses to hire overseas workers, even as youth unemployment reaches 14.7 percent and British young people struggle to find entry-level jobs in the hospitality sector.
British teenagers face their toughest job market in more than a decade while the Home Office has authorized more than 150 kebab shops to recruit workers from overseas. The licensing scheme classifies food service roles as skilled employment, allowing low-wage hospitality businesses to bypass a domestic labor market where youth unemployment has hit 14.7 percent.
Government records confirm 159 kebab shops across Britain now hold sponsorship licenses under the Skilled Worker visa route. The approvals extend well beyond kebab shops to include 79 vape stores, 16 car washes and 400 pizza restaurants, all cleared to recruit foreign labor. Businesses obtain these licenses by paying a £536 fee and demonstrating the job is genuine, a process that has become routine despite rising domestic unemployment.
Young people aged 16 to 24 saw their unemployment rate climb to 14.7 percent in the three months ending March 2026, the highest figure since late 2014. Hospitality has traditionally supplied 37 percent of first jobs for young British workers, yet the sector has recorded some of the steepest drops in payroll numbers. Conservative MP Neil O'Brien called the licensing scheme "absolutely absurd" in a social media post, adding that "a lot of this 'employment' is totally fake visa milling."
The number of licensed sponsors now exceeds 140,000 firms, marking a 130 percent increase since the Conservative government eliminated the resident labour market test in 2020. That policy once required employers to advertise vacancies locally for 28 days before turning to overseas recruitment. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp stated, "It is absolutely ludicrous that kebab shops are able to import workers under the pretence of being highly skilled. The Government needs to shut that down immediately."
Freedom of Information data obtained by the Centre for Migration Control reveals that between 2021 and 2023, 56 kebab shops used their licenses to bring in overseas workers. Baba Kebabish in East Ham received seven visas for "accommodation and food service activities" during that period alone. The Centre for Migration Control said: "The sponsors' register is out of control."
The Skilled Worker visa rules now demand a £41,700 annual salary and degree-level qualifications, yet businesses continue securing licenses for low-wage hospitality positions. The Home Office revoked 1,917 sponsor licenses during a three-month crackdown between February and April 2026. Home Office data shows visa overstayers now account for nearly 40 percent of all asylum claimants.
From October to December 2025, 13 kebab shops faced fines reaching £90,000 for employing illegal workers. UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls noted that "the past two Budgets have inflicted more than £5 billion of additional costs onto hospitality businesses, forcing them to cut jobs, slash hours and scrap plans for new roles."
The Home Office defended its record, pointing to an 82 percent fall in net migration and stating "we will never tolerate abuse." A spokesman added that skilled sponsor revocations are rising and more than 100 occupations have been removed from overseas recruitment access. British young people, however, still face the longest stretch of severe unemployment in more than a decade, searching for work in a sector that no longer hires them.