Conduct of Immigration Enforcement Restaurant Visit Leads to Complaint

Published on: 24 Sep, 2025
Updated on: 24 Sep, 2025

Mandira Sarkar outside her restaurant. Mandira’s Kitchen website

By Martin Giles

A Guildford restaurant owner has heavily criticised an Immigration Enforcement visit to her Indian restaurant.

She is making a complaint to the Home Office about the way the officers conducted the visit to Mandira’s Kitchen, located by the Silent Pool near Shere.

Mandira Sarkar’s restaurant has received praise from Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver and has been visited by the Duke of Edinburgh.

No offences were identified during the visit, which took place on September 19.

Mandira Sarkar said her security video footage showed that ten immigration enforcement officers accompanied by one police officer made the visit saying they were “acting on a tip-off”. The visit lasted nearly 90 minutes while the restaurant was open.

Mandira’s Restaurant by the Silent Pool near Shere. Mandira’s Kitchen website

Ms Sarker was not present but told The Dragon NEWS: “There were six junior staff on site and all were questioned. Some were spoken to for longer than others, but the kitchen staff in particular were grilled at length.

“Because no senior manager was present, staff were compelled to produce documents themselves. They showed a range of things – university enrolment letters, visas, and in one case had to generate a share code because the officers’ own system brought up the wrong name. That individual was essentially treated as guilty until proven innocent.”

Although questioning appeared to concentrate on the immigration status of those questioned, the visit is said to have been, a police-led operation supported by Immigration Enforcement, carried out to “complete a licensing check under s179 of the Licensing Act 2003”. Five members of staff were questioned, a spokesperson said.

The Immigration Enforcement officers are understood to have been present to support the police due to “intelligence received concerning modern slavery and suspected illegal working”.

A Home Office spokesperson said:  “Illegal working undermines honest employers, undercuts local wages, and fuels the criminal industry of immigration crime. This government is determined to clamp down on that illegal activity in every sector where it occurs, including the hospitality sector.

“Under this government, enforcement action nationwide has increased, with visits and arrests up by around 50 per cent on the previous twelve months, and we will be stepping up that action further in the year ahead.”

Prior research about the people questioned appears to have been carried out as one of them was asked whether they had a son. Ms Sarker said the officer knew the 11-year-old’s name and then added further questioning about the employee’s spouse, also an employee, who was off that day.

But the Home Office did not give details about the allegation, nor whether employment records of staff at the record had been checked which could have shown their immigration status.

Ms Sarker told the BBC last week: “Of course they have to do checks, my main thing is the manner in which it was done.”

She is complaining that:
•   No warrant was shown.
•   Staff were separated and intimidated with irrelevant personal questions.
•   They were wrongly accused of lying about their names and families.
•   Officers blocked exits and toilets, disregarding both staff and customers.
•   The finish time [of the visit] was not recorded on their form, which should be standard.

Sarker told the BBC that her staff were asked questions she felt were irrelevant and intrusive such as: “How busy is the cafe? Is the food made here? Where are your glasses kept? Where’s alcohol served?”.

But the Home Office spokesperson said this did not tally with a record of the visit and officers denied they had asked such questions.

Surrey Police have also been invited to comment.

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