When a visa agent offers fake bank statements or employment letters

An agent says your bank balance is too low, then offers a replacement statement showing more money. Another suggests an employment letter from a company you have never worked for. These are changes to the facts of your application, not help with presentation.

For a UK visitor application, the file should explain your real circumstances. Buying a stronger-looking story can create a more serious problem than the weakness the agent says they are solving.

Separate assistance from fabrication

Useful assistance might involve organising records, explaining a checklist or arranging an accurate translation. Altering balances, inventing a salary, manufacturing employment or concealing a relevant fact is different.

UKVI’s suitability guidance distinguishes deliberate deception from other false information and innocent mistakes. False documents can lead to refusal or cancellation, including where a third party was involved. The outcome depends on the applicable rules and evidence; an agent’s involvement does not automatically protect the applicant.

Do not accept a seller’s claim that an ordinary mistake, an unauthorised alteration and deliberate deception always have identical consequences either.

Obtain evidence from its real issuer

Download statements through your bank or request them directly. Obtain employment evidence from the genuine employer. Preserve the original files so you can compare them with anything an adviser prepares.

If your circumstances are unusual, explain them truthfully and identify supporting records. GOV.UK’s visitor guidance focuses on genuine circumstances, the purpose of the visit and sufficient resources. It also warns that submitting suggested documents does not guarantee approval.

An honest file may need a clearer explanation or a more realistic travel plan. It should not require invented history.

Review the complete submission

Before authorising submission, ask to see the completed answers and every attachment. A useful review is to compare each statement with a record you recognise.

• Check employment dates, role and income.
• Match bank figures to the bank’s original records.
• Read explanations about sponsors and unusual transactions.
• Confirm that previous travel and refusals are answered accurately.
• Keep an exact copy of what is submitted.

If you cannot understand the application language, arrange an explanation you can follow before approving it. Do not sign a blank form or approve unseen attachments.

If you discover a false document later

Preserve the genuine records, altered version, messages and instructions showing what happened. Establish what was actually submitted and when.

Seek prompt independent advice from an appropriately regulated professional about correcting the record and responding to any official notice. Do not submit another invented explanation or let the same agent sell a supposed guaranteed “repair”.