The great Citizenship scam: Test that opened the door to cheats and fraud

WHEN the Government introduced a "Britishness" test for would-be citizens in 2005, it was widely lauded as a positive move which would encourage greater integration among immigrant communities.

But while the sentiment was welcomed, a significant number of scams have since bedevilled the citizenship system and put a question mark against whether the Government has the genuine political will to fund and run a system that is fit for purpose.

Not only has the Life in the UK online test been found to be susceptible to cheating and, in the Sheffield conspiracy, outright widespread fraud, but the alternative route to citizenship through an English language qualification has also been undermined by bogus colleges willing to charge hundreds of pounds for fake pass certificates.

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Last year, the Home Secretary acknowledged that officials do not know how many people have tried to pass off bogus certificates when applying for citizenship.

Responding to a Parliamentary question two months ago, Alan Johnson told his shadow counterpart, Chris Grayling, the information was not readily available and it would cost too much to check through applications to find out.

This situation had already been highlighted in the Yorkshire Post in 2008 when it was revealed the Home Office then – as now – also did not know how many people had obtained citizenship or the right to settle in the UK after obtaining an English language qualification. The statistics do not appear to exist.

In the same year, it was revealed that Bluetooth technology had been used to cheat the Life in the UK test, with candidates concealing earpieces under headphones to have answers relayed to them from a contact outside the test centre. The University for Industry, which runs the tests on behalf of the Home Office, reported a "huge increase" in the number of centres experiencing the problem.

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The Advisory Board on Naturalisation and Immigration (ABNI), set up by the Government to monitor the system, warned ministers, again in 2008, that a review of how the citizenship system was required. The Home Office initially declined but by the end of the year appeared to acknowledge a review was necessary.

But a spokesman last night said no review had taken place though he insisted there had been "active reform of policies on migration, integration and citizenship including routes for citizenship and the related language and citizenship knowledge test".

If anything, the English language qualification provides a greater cause for concern than the Life in the UK test for which computerised records at least provide an audit trail for applications.

Further education colleges cannot cope with the demand for the accredited English language qualification required for citizenship which has left a void which the private sector has been quick to fill.

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In the absence of tight regulation, private training companies are able to mark the language tests themselves and there is no requisite number of hours for tuition. Without anyone keeping a close eye on the system, the opportunity to set up completely bogus courses has not gone unnoticed.

In one case in Leeds, currently under police investigation, around 800 immigrants were persuaded to part with 350 each for an English language course, falsely claimed to be accredited by City and Guilds. The company was offering a guaranteed pass after a one-day course but the certificates it provided were completely worthless.

Last night, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: "There are more and more question marks over the system the Government has put in place to obtain citizenship. This is not the first time there has been a suggestion of fraud and it's beginning to look like this aspect of our immigration system is prone to abuse, just as the student visa system has been."

TWO ROUTES TO CITIZENSHIP

Life in the UK test introduced in 2005

Applicants taking the 45-minute online test have to answer 24 randomly selected questions.

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Questions on British way of life and key institutions. At least 18 correct answers required for a pass.

The test costs 34 to take and is in English with reasonable grasp of the language an assumed pre-requisite.

Obtaining a pass certificate offers one route to British citizenship. Alternatively, a would-be citizen can obtain an English language qualification.

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