Latest news with #LifeInTheUK
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Can you pass the British citizenship test? Try and answer these questions
Immigration is a controversial subject that is regularly debated. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently said that we face becoming an "island of strangers". It is a comment that many found wrong, but others may have agreed with. And now there are promises from the Labour government to tighten up immigration rules and make it more difficult to live and work in the United Kingdom. READ MORE: Legal age for children to stay home alone as summer holidays approach READ MORE: ASDA, Morrisons and Matalan customers told 'return' products One requirement of that process has been taking the 'Life in the UK' test, which can put you on the pathway to becoming a British citizen, reports Manchester Evening News. To take the test, you have to have been living in the UK for a certain period of time, not have any criminal convictions, and pass an English language test. The test consists of questions on a mixture of subjects, including culture, history, and customs, and you get 45 minutes to take it. While some questions are pretty straightforward, others would require a bit of background knowledge and research. You can take the test as many times as it takes to pass, but each attempt costs £50. Generally the pass rate has hovered around the 80% mark. To pass, you must correctly answer 18 questions, or 75%, and the results are given immediately at the end of the test. Click here if the test has not appeared below.
Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Firm behind UK citizenship tests owned by company embroiled in ‘cheating scandal'
British citizenship tests will be administered by a company whose new owners were previously embroiled in a cheating scandal, The Telegraph can reveal. PSI Services, a newly acquired subsidiary of New Jersey-based Educational Testing Services (ETS), was awarded the £19.8 million three-year contract last month. ETS previously held the contract for providing English language tests for immigration purposes until cheating allegations more than a decade ago compelled the Home Office to sever ties with the provider. The US assessment firm has now returned to immigration testing by purchasing PSI Services, which has been given responsibility for creating and rolling out the Life in the UK knowledge test for those seeking to become British citizens. A spokesman for ETS said that despite the purchase, PSI was 'operating as a separate entity'. The test is currently made up of 24 multiple choice questions aimed at proving the applicant has sufficient knowledge of British values, history and laws. It costs £50, takes 45 minutes and has a 75 per cent pass mark, asking questions such as: 'Who was the King of England at the time of the Norman invasion in 1066?' The Home Office has determined the bounds of required knowledge, which ranges from early British history and religion to politics, arts and culture. Setting out its specifications, the Government also recommended that questions should be asked on more taboo topics such as 'domestic violence', 'forced marriage', 'female genital mutilation', 'ethnic diversity', 'the slave trade' and 'conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq'. ETS, the world's largest private provider of testing and assessments, bought PSI Services in January 2024. Claims of systemic cheating The company held the licence to carry out the UK's secure English language testing for immigration purposes until it was alleged that its English language tests had been undermined by allegations of systemic cheating. An undercover BBC investigation in 2014 claimed tests were being sat by 'proxy' test takers on behalf of actual candidates and some invigilators were reading out answers. It was later claimed that some ETS staff had informed the Home Office of significant evidence of organised cheating almost two years before it was exposed, as they voiced concern that efforts to close some 'fraudulent' test centres were being blocked by managers worried that test fee income would fall. Asked by the Home Office to mark its own homework, the testing giant allegedly found that of around 58,000 people who sat the test between 2011 and 2015, some 58 per cent had used deception while another 39 per cent were deemed questionable. ETS's allegations prompted the Government to arbitrarily cancel 36,000 student visas and deport more than 2,500 people, with many since contesting the US company's findings. In the wake of the scandal, the Home Office cut ties with ETS, saying the contract had ended and would not be extended, and ETS closed its UK subsidiary. Wes Streeting, now the Health Secretary, told Parliament in 2018 that ETS was 'the grubby contractor at the centre of this scandal' and had 'serious questions to answer about their conduct in all this'. Stephen Timms, a Labour MP, said: 'Clearly, ETS was a discredited witness and yet the Home Office relied on them totally.' At the time, a spokesman for ETS told the BBC: 'ETS does everything it can to detect and prevent rare instances of dishonest test administrators or test takers.' In 2019 the company confirmed it had taken prompt action when it was made aware of serious allegations about UK tests in 2014. It said these were conducted by third-party contractors and overseen by its UK office. A spokesman said: 'ETS shared our methodology and findings with the UK Home Office but did not make any recommendations in relation to the same nor was ETS involved in determining how such information was utilised by the Home Office in its subsequent actions.' ETS added that it would continue to improve test security. Last year, Reed in Partnership was also handed a three year contract with option to extend to develop and deliver a test of knowledge of Life in the UK. Asked how both Reed in Partnership and PSI Services would be sharing the responsibilities for creating and running the service, the Home Office declined to comment. PSI Services is joining the immigration testing fold at a time when trust in citizenship testing has been rocked by further incidents of individual fraud. 'Complete disregard for UK immigration laws' In February, a 42-year-old woman from Kent was arrested on suspicion of wearing disguises to fraudulently sit the Life in the UK test on behalf of at least 12 people across multiple test centres. Chris Foster, the Home Office's criminal and financial investigation lead for London, said: 'This individual went to extreme lengths, using wigs and disguises to impersonate others and cheat the immigration system, showing a complete disregard for UK safety and immigration laws. 'There are 30 test centres around the UK and hundreds of thousands of people throughout the course of the year who sit the Life in the UK test and many are doing it legitimately.' The arrest came soon after Josephine Maurice, 61, from Enfield, admitted using wigs to fraudulently take the Life in the UK test on behalf of 13 people between June 2022 and August 2023. A spokesman for ETS said: 'PSI is a wholly owned subsidiary of ETS, operating as a separate entity. 'Under the terms of the contract between PSI and the Home Office, PSI retains full responsibility for the delivery of the Life in the UK Test on behalf of the Home Office. 'While PSI is now under ETS ownership, it functions with autonomy in service execution for this contract.'
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Can you pass the British Citizenship test? Take our quiz
The 'Life in the UK' test is a key part of the application process to become a British citizen or settle in the UK. Tests were introduced in 2005 for migrants seeking citizenship and in 2007 for people applying for settlement, and are intended to prove applicants have 'sufficient knowledge' of British life. They have proven controversial, however, and have been repeatedly criticised for including questions that many British-born citizens would not know. Under new plans announced this week by Labour, migrants will need to spend up to a decade in the UK before they can apply for citizenship, and they will also face tougher English language requirements. The changes could make British citizenship among the hardest to achieve in the anglophone world. Some have already found the citizenship test hard to pass, with The Independent revealing that one migrant took the test a record 118 times. The test takes 45 minutes and is made up of 24 questions about British traditions and customs. Applicants are required to get 18 of the 24 questions right, a 75 per cent pass rate. Do you think you can do it? We have pulled together a list of some mock questions from here:
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Could you pass the British Citizenship test?
The 'Life in the UK' test is a key part of the application process to become a British citizen or settle in the UK. Tests were introduced in 2005 for migrants seeking citizenship and in 2007 for people applying for settlement, and are intended to prove applicants have 'sufficient knowledge' of British life. They have proven controversial, however, and have been repeatedly criticised for including questions that many British-born citizens would not know. Under new plans announced this week by Labour, migrants will need to spend up to a decade in the UK before they can apply for citizenship, and they will also face tougher English language requirements. The changes could make British citizenship among the hardest to achieve in the anglophone world. Some have already found the citizenship test hard to pass, with The Independent revealing that one migrant took the test a record 118 times. The test takes 45 minutes and is made up of 24 questions about British traditions and customs. Applicants are required to get 18 of the 24 questions right, a 75 per cent pass rate. Do you think you can do it? We have pulled together a list of some mock questions from here:
