The post you are reporting:
Thought forumites may be interested in this newspaper article
AN illegal worker from Russia landed a job as a Royal footman and served tea to the Queen,
Igor Golovanov, 32, waited on Her Majesty and Prince Philip — and said: "I couldn't believe this was the monarch and her husband."
He was a member of the Buckingham Palace staff for nearly TWO YEARS even though he did not have a proper work permit, which technically made him an illegal immigrant.
His job as a footman and trainee butler took him to Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Balmoral and Sandringham.
Moscow-born Igor was given a flat inside the Palace, rode on gilded carriages and rubbed shoulders with heads of state and PM Gordon Brown.
He served Prince Charles and Prince Andrew — and got to know the other Royals.
But all the time, his work permit was invalid and he was therefore in violation of his UK visa.
Igor, the only Russian on the staff, said Buckingham Palace failed to check his credentials. And he came to believe he did not need proper papers because he was working for the Royals.
But when stunned Palace staff finally found out recently, he was sacked on the spot and warned to leave Britain.
Igor said: "Now I am likely to be forced out of the UK because of their negligence. They have broken the law by employing me and now they keep phoning to say I should leave the country as quickly as possible. I think I have been badly treated.
"I love your country because of its culture, its food, its people and its sense of humour. I just hope someone will take my side and help me to stay."
Under new laws, employers can be fined or even jailed for taking on illegal workers.
Igor said: "When I was interviewed for the job they did not make any copies of my documents and made no checks on my immigration status.
"They should have applied for a work permit for me. But they didn't, meaning that when I started work there I was breaching the terms of my UK visa.
"That meant I was effectively an illegal immigrant working for the Royal household — but no one even noticed."
He added: "I was the only Russian working at the Palace. For that reason alone I thought my employment would be examined very closely."
Igor came to Britain on a student visa in 2000 to do a masters degree in hospitality at Bournemouth University.
He landed his first job as a trainee at a hotel in the seaside town. Immigration officials granted him a temporary work permit on condition he ONLY worked for that employer.
But when the hotel owners announced it would soon close Igor looked for another job. He saw a Buckingham Palace ad for a trainee butler and sent off an application in January 2006.
He said: "I had two interviews and was told I had got the job but as a footman instead. They asked what my plans were and I told them I hoped to stay in the UK permanently.
"I showed them all my papers and explained I would need a new work permit to be employed at Buckingham Palace. But they made no copies and took no notes. I never heard anything about work permits again."
Igor added: "I had to wait nearly seven months for security checks. Then they wrote to me in September to say I had formally got the job." A letter from senior personnel assistant Deborah Simmonds told him he would get a pensionable salary of £13,825. But he would have nearly £3,000 deducted for "rent" as he would be living in the Palace.
Igor, who took up his post in October 2006, said: "I remember arriving and being amazed at the size of it. I just thought, 'This is amazing. I'm working among the most important people in Great Britain'.
"There were about 20 or 30 trainees at the time. We were measured for state uniforms and given rooms on the footmen's floor overlooking the courtyard.
"It took me weeks to work out how to get to different parts of the Palace because it was so big. I always got lost."
He added: "My duties to begin with were valeting and food and beverages. I served senior members of the Royal household — people like the Queen's Private Secretary and so on.
"Then as I got more experienced I was given similar tasks but with the Royals themselves. I served meals, tea and coffee to the Queen and Prince Philip, and the Duke of York. They were incredibly polite to me even though I was so junior."
Royal staff did not have a clue about Igor's dodgy immigration status — until he told them. He said: "My temporary visa runs out in August and I wanted to stay in the UK permanently. To do that I needed an employer's reference so I emailed the Palace's personnel department.
"When they said they didn't do that type of thing I asked if they had done anything about my work permit. Within minutes I was phoned and asked to a meeting with Elizabeth Hunka, the personnel director.
"At the meeting, on June 19, she opened my file and looked shocked when she couldn't find a copy of any work permit. I showed her my old one and she said she needed to make a call.
"Ten minutes later an assistant called me and said they had spoken to lawyers. I was told my contract was being terminated because I was basically working as an illegal immigrant and had violated my visa."
A letter from to Palace to Igor
It read: "Dear Igor. Given your statements, and in the circumstances, whilst there is no legal obligation to pay you in respect of your notice period, we are prepared to make you a payment.
"A P45 will be forwarded to you in due course. Whilst we are obviously supportive of you in wanting to ensure you are given appropriate advice, we must also ensure we have complied with the correct procedures, given your circumstances as you now understand them."
Last night a Palace spokesman said Igor — now living in South London — had been fully vetted and security checked, and had presented a residency permit.
But the spokesman admitted: "Full procedures were not followed in submitting a change of employer application. The error was identified and his contract has been terminated."
Excellent...now will the Queen cop a fine for breaching the immigration rules?