Café Raj, a restaurant in Eltham, has had its premises licence revoked by the Greenwich Licensing Review Sub-Committee following the discovery of an illegal worker. The decision was made at a meeting on Thursday, June 4, 2026.
The review of the licence for Café Raj, located at 69 Well Hall Road, was initiated by Immigration Enforcement. The core of the investigation stemmed from an immigration visit on June 19, 2025, which found an individual, Muhammad Hasan OVI, working in food preparation without the legal right to work in the UK.
Muhammad Hasan OVI had entered the UK on a short-term student visa valid from September 2022 to August 2023, which did not grant him the right to work. He later claimed asylum, but his claim was refused in August 2024, and he had an outstanding appeal against this refusal at the time of the visit. Therefore, he never held the right to work in the UK.
Both OVI and the on-site manager, Shelim AHMED, confirmed he had been employed for approximately one week, and crucially, no right-to-work checks were conducted before his employment began.
Following this discovery, Foxy Raj Limited, the company associated with Café Raj, was issued a civil penalty of £45,000 on August 28, 2025. Despite the penalty remaining unpaid and outstanding in full, no objection or appeal was submitted by Foxy Raj Limited.
Immigration Enforcement argued that employing illegal workers directly undermines the licensing objective of preventing crime and disorder. They cited guidance from the Licensing Act 2003, which states that employing individuals disqualified by their immigration status should be treated with extreme seriousness, and that licence revocation should be considered.
The Sub-Committee, after reviewing the evidence presented in the public reports pack Public reports pack, concluded that revoking the licence was the necessary course of action. They determined that less severe measures, such as a warning or suspension, would be insufficient to deter such practices.
Regarding previous issues, the report notes that there had been no previous noise complaints or other licensing concerns associated with Café Raj. However, it does not explicitly state whether there were any previous immigration-related incidents prior to the one detailed in the report.
Any party aggrieved by the decision has the right to appeal to the Magistrates' Court within 21 days of receiving the decision notice. The potential outcomes of such an appeal are not detailed in the provided information. The meeting agenda and related information can be found on the Greenwich Council website Agenda frontsheet and in the Information Pack.
