MORE than 20,000 security guards had their licences torn up in the past three years, because they had no right to work in Britain.
Figures obtained by The Telegraph show a sharp rise in migrants stripped of licences to guard shops, clubs and hospitals.
Most of those stripped of their licences are Pakistani and Indian nationals, government data shows.
The Conservatives said anyone caught flouting the rules by working illegally as a security guard should be deported immediately.
Anyone wanting to work in private security must first get a licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA), a Home Office quango. Most then go through a government-approved training course, with the body checking the visa status of applicants from overseas.
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The SIA's website states that "in most cases, you must have the right to work in the UK to get a front line or non-front line licence".
Yet figures released under freedom of information laws reveal a huge rise in licences being revoked over visa-related issues. Almost 22,000 licences have been stripped from people with no right to work in Britain since the start of 2023.
A record 7,740 badges were pulled in 2025 alone, more than 10 times the 734 licences cancelled in 2022, reported The Telegraph. In the first seven months of this year, 4,244 have already been revoked.
Licences are required for security guards working through external contractors, who guard pubs, clubs, shops, warehouses, cash in transit and even hospitals.
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Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: "How are we meant to trust the people keeping us safe, guarding our shops and our buildings, if basic checks on the right to work are not even happening?
"Illegal working is an offence. Anyone caught working without the right to work should be deported.
"The SIA must fix this so these people never get a licence in the first place. The Home Office must act now."
Most revocations are thought to involve people who had the right to work when they applied, but later lost it. Foreign nationals on student visas can often work in security roles, and there have also been concerns over people arriving on social care visas taking on other work instead.
Nine in 10 of all licences revoked since 2022 were pulled because the holder had no right to work in the UK.
In that time, 9,625 licences were removed from Pakistani nationals, 7,861 from Indian nationals and 2,898 from Nigerians, The Telegraph reported.
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The surge in revocations coincided with the sharp rise in net migration overseen by Boris Johnson in the aftermath of the pandemic. There are currently 450,000 security licence holders in Britain.
An SIA spokesman said: "Having the right to work in the UK is a condition of holding an SIA licence. The SIA does not issue licences to anyone who does not have the right to work in the UK.
"An SIA licence is valid for three years. If someone's right to work expires within that period, we check if they have retained their right to work. If they haven't, we will revoke their licence.
"We revoke the licence of anyone whose suitable visa expires, including when they have left the UK or remained under a new type of visa."
