European Visa Trap: Indians Lured, Forced to Work 80HR/Week

Indian workers caught in visa trap

A trafficking probe in several European countries revealed a huge scam. Dozens of Indian nationals were lured to Europe and forced to work over 80 hours per week.

The workers were taken on specialised chef visas, and were taken in by restaurants. They were housed by Indian owners, and worked up to 16 hours a day as dishwashers and waiters, despite having chef visas.

Europol stated that the victims were forced to perform heavy labour seven days a week. What wages they were paid was far below the legal wages

By underpaying the workers, restaurants pocketed over €4 million in profits. The victims were trapped under threats of violence and financial penalties.

Their families in India were also put under pressure, forcing them to remain in the Netherlands. The Labour Authority suspects the owners of human smuggling and employing illegal immigrants.

Despite being victims, the workers were deemed to be illegal. While the Dutch scheme to bring in specialised chefs from outside was scrapped in 2022, transitional visas were issued until 2024.

Investigators from Europol searched restaurants across the continent. Most of the restaurants were in the Netherlands, with eight businesses raided. Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Belgium also had restaurants running similar scams.