One-way Ticket From Tashkent

In this in-depth investigation, a team of journalists from Belgium and the Netherlands trace the opaque and exploitative migration routes used by Central Asian workers to reach Western Europe. Many are lured by fake job ads on Telegram or Facebook, pay thousands of euros for visas, and are subsequently deployed in Europe’s shadow economy. 

The investigation follows the personal stories of Uzbek migrants like Fedya, Rasul, Ina and Timur — revealing a pattern of deception, exploitation, and regulatory failure. It uncovers how EU rules on the free movement of services are misused to sidestep labour protections and how national crackdowns backfire, pushing people deeper into illegality and precarity.

At the heart of the investigation lies a critical question: how effective are national and EU laws in protecting so-called “third-country nationals” from exploitation?

Interviews with migrants, experts, researchers and employers reveal a growing system of labour brokerage, where chains of subcontractors and intermediaries profit while shifting responsibility. The investigation also sheds light on the resilience of many of these migrant workers — who try to avoid scams, warn each other online, and navigate a system stacked against them. 

Photo: Uzbek restaurant Guzar, in a suburb of Warsaw. Here, traditional Uzbek food is being prepared. It's a meeting place for Uzbek and other Central Asian migrant workers in Poland.

— © Hester den Boer