English test scam to beat UK controls
Immigration minister admits system has been exploited by 48,000 migrants
THE staggering scale of abuse of the student visa system by immigrants desperate to stay in Britain was revealed yesterday.
Tens of thousands of bogus s t udents f aked English language tests to beat UK border controls, the Government admitted.
An estimated 48,000 immigrants had exploited the lax system in a ‘shocking’ scam run by criminal gangs, said Immigration Minister James Brokenshire.
He disclosed that there had been ‘systematic cheating’ that
‘Systematic cheating’
allowed foreigners who could barely speak a word of English to stay in the country illegally, with corrupt invigilators reading out answers or allowing gangs of imposters to sit tests so the candidates could be awarded an English language certificate.
The National Crime Agency has been called i n to assist the investigation and some arrests have already been made.
It is the latest immigration scandal to rock the Home Office. Last month the Mail revealed migrants who cannot speak English were able to buy a certificate saying t hey had passed a language test. The document opens the door to British citizenship, allowing them access to a full range of benefits.
Our i nvestigation exposed Learn Pass Succeed, which ran t he scam at exam centres licensed by the Home Office.
During our undercover probe, the Mail paid £500 for a pass certificate in the English language exam for a fake candidate despite him never sitting the test or taking a course.
Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Mr Brokenshire said immigration officials were working with HM Revenue & Customs to identify foreign students who are in Britain unlawfully as a result of taking the fake language tests, so they can be booted out.
In one extraordinary case, an overseas university student earned more than £20,000 a year despite rules preventing them from working more than 20 hours a week during term time.
Ministers also said there were ‘serious concerns’ surrounding the colleges and universities which had allowed the overseas students to enrol on courses. The Home Office was alerted to the student visa scandal only after it was exposed by a BBC Panorama programme in February. ETS, the major company that sets the exams but does not appoint the invigilators, is now at the centre of a police probe.
In a humiliating Commons appearance, Mr Brokenshire said an investigation had found more than 29,000 falsified test certificates and another 19,000 questionable results. But he was forced to admit: ‘It is likely that the true totals will be higher.’
He added: ‘Evidently this could only happen with considerable collusion by the test centres concerned. The Government is not prepared to tolerate this abuse. We will not hesitate to take firm
‘The scale is truly shocking’
action against those students, colleges and universities who do not a bi de by t hei r legal responsibilities.’
Shadow immigration minister David Hanson said the scale of the scandal was ‘truly shocking’.
He added: ‘People will be outraged that genuine students are turned away while bogus students prosper under this Government. It is clearly an abuse that damages the integrity of the system.’
The Tories said Labour had done nothing to tighten up immigration controls during its time in power and it had ‘fallen on this Government to introduce further stringent measures’.