'Face of Tesco' working without UK visa
September 28 2009 by Mark Johnstone
Fatou Cham in UK visa poser
Gambian-born Fatou Cham, who won a competition to become the ‘face of Tesco’, is under investigation and may face deportation by UK immigration officials after she was found to not have a valid work visa.
The 32-year old Tesco checkout worker and mother-of-three from east London was chosen to model the supermarket’s autumn clothing range and her picture appeared in numerous magazines.
Cham has since been removed from the advertising campaign and is upset by the news Tesco has dropped her as a model. She and her family now face an uncertain future in the UK.
She said, cited on the Daily Mirror website: “The last few days have been really stressful. I came here for a better life and never set out to deceive anyone. I just want to stay here with my family and be happy.
“I was really excited about being the face of Tesco and could not wait to see what opportunities it gave me. Now it has all gone horribly wrong.”
The model moved to the UK in 1998 aged 21 to study at London Metropolitan University. But last week UK immigration officials were alerted to Cham’s status as an illegal immigrant. She had stayed in the UK after her student visa expired in 2001.
Changes to UK visa law in 2004 now mean Cham and thousands like her require a valid UK work visa to remain in the country.
Cham has had her visa applications turned down by the UK Borders Agency and she is currently appealing to the High Court.
A Tesco spokeswoman said to BBC News: "As soon as we were made aware of this issue by the UK Border Agency we co-operated fully with the investigation."
"We carried out all the checks required by law and the authorities have confirmed that they are satisfied that we followed the correct procedures."
A UK Border Agency has the power to remove any migrant who is not in possiession of a valid UK work visa.
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