Moving English tests online for migrants who want a visa to come to the UK could open the door to fraudsters and criminal gangs, the largest international providers of English language exams have warned.
Under the new £816m contract, which could be operational by December, English exams for Home Office visas would become “fully digital” and could be sat at a location of an applicant’s choosing.
In a letter to the Home Office, the largest consortium of current providers warned Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood the move risked undermining her wider goals to secure UK borders.
The letter, seen by the BBC, said there was a danger applicants would be able to fake test results with the help of imposters and AI.
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At the moment, migrants who want to study or work in the UK need to show they can speak English to internationally recognised standards by taking tests at one of more than 1,300 test centres around the world.
But in November last year, the Home Office launched a tender for “fully remote” English tests to run for five years from December 2026 at the earliest.
It said the new system would see “customers” – meaning migrants applying for visas – choose where to take their test, providing secure conditions were met.
From January, those tests were made tougher, with migrants told they needed to demonstrate the equivalent of A-level English to be considered for a skilled work visa and other categories.
Two-thirds of the current, in-person English tests are overseen by a consortium called International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
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The post Moving English Tests for Migrants Online Risks Criminal Abuse, Providers Warn appeared first on American Renaissance.
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