Staggering scale of UK student visa abuse now revealed

Almost 50,000 bogus students from overseas have managed to gain entry to the UK with the help of English language examination invigilators and scams run by illegal visa agents.

UK Immigration Minister James Brokenshire admitted yesterday that the country’s student visa system had been thoroughly abused by an estimated 48,000 fake students. Foreigners with little or no English language skills had been involved in systemic cheating aimed at gaining the all-important certificate of competence allowing their student visas to be granted.

Brokenshire told the media that criminal gangs had paid corrupt invigilators to read out answers or allow imposters to sit the test in order that candidates could receive certificates. Previously, media reports had suggested that fake English language competence certificates were being sold to migrants and used to gain citizenship and access to state benefits and, in February, the BBC’s Panorama programme fully exposed the scam.

Exam centres were licensed by the Home Office, and run by Learn Pass Succeed, a company outed by a Daily Mail investigation. A reporter from the daily newspaper paid £500 for a pass certificate without taking a course in English or sitting the test.

Immigration officers are now cooperating with HM Revenue and Customs in order to identify students from overseas who entered the UK illegally using fake English language certificates. Those discovered will be deported, and ETS, the firm responsible for the testing system, is under police investigation.

A humiliated Brokenshire told parliament that the true totals of the abuse are likely to be far higher, admitting that the scam could only have happened with the knowledge and help of the test centres. Several British universities have already been prohibited from accepting foreign students, and several more are under investigation.