Legal News

Innocent people have had their future careers ruined and face deportation after being wrongly caught in a crackdown on English language test cheats, a BBC investigation has found.

More than 2,500 people have been deported by the Home Office and at least 7,200 more forced to leave Britain after being accused of cheating in their English language test by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

However, the Home Office has continued removing people using ETS evidence despite serious concerns surrounding its conduct and obvious data flaws.

A clampdown followed an initial investigation by the BBC’s Panorama team in 2014, which found that two testing centres were running fraudulent exams so candidates could obtain a pass and apply for a visa.

A recent BBC investigation found the data collected was inaccurate and led to false allegations of cheating levelled against guiltless people.

Possessing adequate English language skills is an important requirement for obtaining many visas if you are not from a primarily English speaking country, particularly for those planning to study in the UK or come as a skilled worker, family member or parent.

Applicants must prove their understanding of English as part of their application by passing a test and getting the necessary certificate.

Panorama first highlighted issues associated with the English Language tests in 2014. Following a tip-off that several centres in East London were guaranteeing results and using proxies (an individual with good English skills taking the test on someone’s behalf), the Home Office asked ETS to assess the scale of student cheating. ETS produced a list of alleged cheats, which the Home Office has since used as evidence for removal, despite being aware of evidence that innocent people are on the ‘cheat’ list.

The BBC says that fraudulent results were reported to the Home Office nearly two years before the Panorama investigation. However, any concerns appear to have been ignored for fear of losing “test fee income”. The Panorama investigation focussed on the TOEIC exam (Test of English for International Communication) – a standardised ‘English language test designed specifically to measure the everyday English skills of people working in an international environment’.

The ETS, then under scrutiny, used voice recognition software to investigate potential fraud by looking to see whether the same voice appeared on multiple tests, which would indicate that the same proxy took multiple tests. If this software flagged a test up, and two members of staff agreed that cheating had occurred, the test result was declared ‘invalid’. If they could not conclusively agree that there was cheating, the result was classified as ‘inconclusive’.

The response to these investigations has caused fear for many in the UK, especially those wrongly accused, as their permission to be in the Britain is likely to be torn up without any opportunity to challenge the accusations or to review any potential evidence against them. The BBC has interviewed several people in this position, including those who are now unwelcome in their home country because it has been discovered that they were branded ‘cheats’ in the UK.

For more information about the BBC’s investigations, you can read the reports on its website.


At Duncan Lewis Solicitors, we have successfully assisted many clients in challenging the Home Office’s accusation of ‘fraud’ and ‘cheating’ relating to ETS TOEIC.

So, if your immigration status has been affected by this issue, please contact one of the following Duncan Lewis solicitors for advice:

Immigration director Vicash Ramkissoon on vicashr@duncanlewis.com or 020 3114 1105.

Immigration solicitor Kawther Al-Aaraji on kawthera@duncanlewis.com or 0203 114 1137.