Student visa fraud in language tests

The Home Office has suspended government-approved English language tests run by a major firm after systematic fraud in the student visa system was uncovered.

The fraud was discovered after the BBC’s secret filming of the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) tests showed candidates having answers read out for them and tests done for them.

The government has stopped 700 colleges from bringing in non-EU students and has suspended all further TOEIC tests done in the UK through ETS, the major firm which hosted the fraudulent tests.

Home Secretary Theresa May called on the educational sector to do more to tackle fraud.

A BBC researcher who went undercover at an immigration consultancy called Studentway Education in Southall, west London, was told that a “guaranteed pass” would cost £500 – about three times the original exam fee.

The BBC was told that Studentway could get around compulsory English tests even if the applicants spoke no English. BBC researchers were also sold fake bank details to show they had enough funds to stay in the UK.

Non-EU students are restricted on the amount of paid work they can do and require a bank statement to show they can cover fees and living costs.

Henry Smith, a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering student, said: “If people are cheating in the exams and are caught out, then that’s a good thing. It’s a bit worrying that the BBC had to find out for them though.”

Isabelle Ng, second-year Accounting and Finance undergraduate, commented: “I can sort of sympathise for why the government would need to clamp down on illegal immigration.

“But I feel like the immigration rules can be quite intimidating for non-EU students, as if it’s saying that they are required to speak good English. The restrictions on the amount of paid work may also be interpreted as a constraint on the amount of part-time work they can do.”

Susanna Chapman, first-year Sociology undergraduate, however, was more critical of the immigration constraints in a general sense. She recognised that it would be impossible to fully open up UK borders but said: “the UK should be more tolerant of immigrants. They create trade, as much as anyone/anything else.

“We are a wonderfully diverse community, and we should keep it that way. English people live off of foreign, imported products half the time anyway- they’re okay with that, so why shouldn’t they let people come in from foreign countries as well?

“While unemployment and tax avoidance are problems, people should blame the government for unemployment. As for tax avoidance, you only have to look at a newspaper such as the Daily Express to see that the Brits themselves are the most guilty of it.”

Home secretary Theresa May told the BBC: “I’m grateful to Panorama for the work they have done in showing this abuse.”

She said that the government was taking action to change the immigration system.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This investigation shows Theresa May is presiding over a failing immigration system which too often focuses on the wrong thing.”