Home Office bid to shut down restaurant in York after immigration raids

The Home Office’s application to revoke the licence of the Sky Blue Chinese restaurant and karaoke bar is set for a York Council hearing on Thursday, September 24.

Government officials stated the restaurant had been found repeatedly employing illegal workers and still owed £95,000 in unpaid fines.

A council report stated any decision taken on Thursday could be appealed either by the restaurant or the Home Office.

It comes after Sky Blue York Ltd, the venue’s operating company, went into liquidation earlier this month owing £102,412 to creditors including the Home Office and HMRC.

The company’s debts include two fines, issued in October and January and worth £40,000 and £45,000 respectively, which remain unpaid.

The Home Office report stated two raids on the restaurant, in Barbican Road, were carried out by Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) officers in July and December last year.

Officers found a worker in the restaurant’s kitchen during the July raid who discarded his apron when they approached him.

The worker claimed during an interview conducted in Mandarin that he had taught himself cooking online and had travelled from Birmingham to show a friend how to prepare vegetables.

He later admitted he was not allowed to work and the friend would take him for a meal in return and paid for his bus ticket after denying he was being paid.

Home Office checks found he entered the UK on a student visa which expired in February 2011 and had submitted several applications for leave to remain which were all refused.

A raid in December found a worker who told officers in Indonesian that he came to the restaurant at 10am and typically worked until 9pm.

The worker said he was usually employed twice a week to prepare food and was paid £30 to £40 a shift, sometimes received food and was housed for free nearby.

Checks found he entered the UK on a visit visa which expired in August 2017 and had not applied to legally remain in the country.

Four enforcement visits were also carried out between 2014 and 2019, when the premises traded as The Regency Chinese Restaurant.

The licence for The Regency Chinese Restaurant was revoked in 2020 but a new one was granted for Sky Blue to trade at the premises.

Zhong Le Chen, who was listed as the licence holder when the business traded under its previous name, was at the premises during both enforcement visits.

He told officers he did not run the business but checks with the council found he was listed as its owner, despite the licence being held by Kheng Chooi Koay.

Sky Blue had its licence taken off it in 2022 following repeated breaches of conditions and an allegation of drinks spiking at the premises.

The licence was reinstated in 2023 following an appeal.

North Yorkshire Police served a closure notice on the restaurant last December and the designated premises supervisor was changed later that month.

The Home Office’s application stated putting extra conditions on the restaurant’s licence or suspending it was not enough following the repeated offences.

The application stated: “Sky Blue, under the control of Kheng Chooi Koay, has been found employing illegal workers on two separate occasions.

“The license holder would have been aware of his responsibilities to uphold the licensing objectives as they are clearly defined as part of the premises license application.

“Immigration Enforcement asks that the premises licence is revoked.”