The United Kingdom has widened its campaign against visa fraud in India, extending the initiative to Tamil Nadu as part of a broader effort to curb illegal migration and protect vulnerable
communities from exploitation.
The expansion was announced by the British Deputy High Commission in Chennai on 22 November 2025, coinciding with a visit to India by the UK’s Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Seema Malhotra. Her trip focuses on assessing joint UK-India initiatives aimed at reducing scams, financial losses, and emotional harm linked to fraudulent migration schemes.
At the centre of the Tamil Nadu rollout is a new Tamil-language WhatsApp chatbot designed to help residents verify visa information, identify scams, and access reliable guidance. The campaign will also include community outreach sessions, mirroring a pilot programme launched earlier in Punjab that has shown promising results.
British officials say the initiative underscores the growing momentum of the UK-India partnership. It aligns with the goals set out in the UK–India Vision 2035 framework, which includes commitments to combating criminal networks involved in exploitation and reducing irregular migration routes.
During the event, Minister Seema Malhotra gave a speech. On the WhatsApp chatbot, she said:
“You will see the WhatsApp number for our new bespoke chatbot. Information that can be there readily, available when you need it, from authoritative UK visa department resources. So that people can access the right information and identify the warning signs of visa fraudsters”.
On the partnership between the UK and India to tackle visa fraud, she said:
“We want the message to be out there and the message to be clear, please stay safe. Don’t risk your dreams or your savings. Protect yourself from those criminals behind visa fraud, and all the risks associated with it.
And to conclude, I just want to reiterate my thanks to the Government of Tamil Nadu, the Government of India and to everyone at the NRT Welfare Department; and to the Anna Library for your partnership and for your support towards the launch of this most important campaign”.
The WhatsApp chatbot can be accessed at +91 70652 51380.