A well-known curry house in Walsall is set to close after its licence was revoked due to the employment of an illegal worker. Last year, the Home Office visited Dera on Caldmore Road and discovered a Pakistani national working beyond the conditions of his visa. This led to the arrest of the individual for immigration offences on August 9, 2025, and a subsequent civil penalty of £45,000 was issued to the business.
The worker was in the UK on a visa restricting employment to specific roles, none of which included his job as a cleaner at Dera. Walsall Council’s licensing committee convened on July 15 after calls from the Home Office and West Midlands Police to revoke the restaurant’s licence.
During the review, committee members were informed of a prior incident in 2023, where another person was arrested for immigration offences related to the restaurant. Licence holder Talat Jalil insisted that the individual was not employed by Dera and had no connection to the business, a claim the Home Office had previously accepted, resulting in a No Action Notice at that time.
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Alex Romano from the Home Office emphasized the seriousness of illegal work, stating it fuels illegal migration and underlines a breach of UK immigration law. He highlighted that employing someone disqualified from working by immigration status is a grave offence, warranting licence revocation.
Jennifer Mellor of West Midlands Police expressed concerns about the management of the establishment and the potential impact such offences could have on local crime statistics. While the police suspected deliberate actions to avoid minimum wage and tax obligations or to exploit workers, no direct evidence of underpayment or exploitation was found.
A representative for Mr Jalil admitted that required right-to-work checks were not properly conducted, attributing this lapse to Mr Jalil’s ill-health following a heart attack. The representative stressed that the 2023 incident was unrelated to the restaurant’s current operations and described the 2025 case as a genuine mistake by the manager, who believed the worker had a valid visa.
Mr Jalil acknowledged cooperation with authorities and denied any intent to mislead immigration officers. The business has since been taken over by Ifrah Sabir, who has prioritized compliance with all legal requirements. However, revoking the licence would likely force the business to close, affecting local employees.
After careful consideration, the licensing committee—Councillors Irene Henery, David Bailey, and Tony Sadla—decided to revoke the licence. Council solicitor Tara Tumber explained the decision, stating that the licence holder failed to demonstrate a commitment to licensing objectives, particularly concerning crime prevention. The committee concluded that revoking the licence was necessary, appropriate, and proportionate.