Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons her Department has blacklisted citizenship applications from applicants who took the TOEIC test through companies accused of fraudulent activities; when those applicants were defrauded by those companies; and what steps she is taking to ensure that those applicants can still apply with an alternative proof of their level of English being of the required standard to process their application fairly.

It is open to any person to apply for citizenship if they meet the statutory requirements.

Those applying for naturalisation as a British citizen are required to demonstrate a knowledge of English at B1 level or above, and that they are of good character.

As a TOEIC test is no longer a recognised English test qualification, an alternative qualification must be presented to satisfy the knowledge of English requirement.

Where evidence is available which identifies individuals as having obtained an invalid test certificate, additional scrutiny is applied by caseworkers as part of the assessment of good character, as would be applied to any other potential indication of adverse character or deception. The decision reached is based on the facts of the case and the overall assessment of the applicant’s suitability for naturalisation in accordance with nationality law and published policy.

Further guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/nationality-policy-guidance