Albanians used false documents for EU settlement scheme – court

Three Albanian men have admitted submitting false documents to secure residence rights under the EU settlement scheme.

Sina Ervin, 35, Kadri Sinamati, 28, and Kastriot Hoxha, 32, pleaded guilty to immigration offences at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday.

The men, who all live at addresses in South Yorkshire, were arrested as part of Home Office raids across England and Wales in June.

They were remanded in custody and will appear at the same court for sentencing on 10 September.

Hoxha, of Primrose Place, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to trying to obtain leave to enter or remain in the UK by submitting a dishonest EU Settlement Scheme application and fraud by submitting false information about his marriage history.

He also admitted to possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

Hoxha denied having a fake Cypriot marriage certificate and a false decree absolute, which is a final legal document that officially ends a marriage or civil partnership.

He also pleaded not guilty to submitting a fake utility bill to the Home Office and denied a further count of submitting false information to the Home Office as part of an EU Settlement Scheme application.

Sinamati, of Dunford Drive, Doncaster, and Ervin, of Sandstone Avenue, Sheffield, both pleaded guilty to submitting false information to the Home Office as part of an EU settlement application.

They pleaded not guilty to possessing a false Cypriot marriage certificate, and submitting a fake Virgin Media bill as part of an EU Settlement Scheme application.

The prosecution accepted the pleas entered by the men on Friday and agreed not to pursue a trial of the denied offences.