Food delivery apps given UK asylum hotel locations in crackdown on illegal working

The British government will share the locations of hotels housing asylum seekers with food delivery companies in a bid to crack down on illegal working.

The Home Office announced the measure after reports of emerged of migrants working illegally for Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat in central London.

Asylum seekers are not allowed to work during their first 12 months in the UK, or until their application is approved. However, they have been able to work for delivery apps through legal workers giving them access to their accounts in return for a fee.

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The new agreement with Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats will allow them to identify if an account spends a lot of time near one of the hotels, which could suggest illegal working. It will help them uncover abuse on their platforms and suspend accounts.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the measures come alongside a 50 per cent increase in raids and arrests for illegal working.

“Illegal working undermines honest business, exploits vulnerable individuals and fuels organised immigration crime,” she said.

“By enhancing our data sharing with delivery companies, we are taking decisive action to close loopholes and increase enforcement.”

The three delivery companies were recently summoned for talks with the Home Office after measures introduced earlier this year were still failing to filter out illegal workers.

In response they introduced enhanced right to work checks, including facial recognition, which has already resulted in thousands of drivers being barred from using apps.

Footage released by the Home Office shows drivers being stopped by immigration enforcement officers and having their IDs checked. Drivers were then seen being taken into custody, including one in handcuffs.

Eddy Montgomery, Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime at the Home Office, said: “This next step of co-ordinated working with delivery firms will help us target those who seek to work illegally in the gig economy and exploit their status in the UK.

“My teams will continue to carry out increased enforcement activity across the UK and I welcome this additional tool to disrupt and stop the abuse of our immigration system.”

Ministers have promised a “nationwide blitz” to target migrants working illegally as part of efforts to deter people from coming to the UK from France.

Officials hope to tackle the “pull factors” attracting migrants, alongside the deal struck by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron this month to send some people who reach England in small boats back to France.

More than 23,500 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel so far in 2025, a record for this point in the year.