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A woman has been accused of taking British citizenship tests for at least 14 people while allegedly wearing wigs and disguises.
The Home Office said a 61-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of fraudulently completing Life in the UK tests in an attempt to fraudulently obtain leave to remain for more than a dozen applicants.
The arrest comes after Home Office investigators executed a warrant at a home in Enfield, north London, on 27 January where they uncovered a stash of false documents and an array of wigs suspected to have been used by the woman to trick interviewers.
The Home Office released images of the suspect wearing wigs she was alleged to have used to take the tests, as well as CCTV of the suspect taking part in an interview.
The woman, who has not been named, is alleged to have completed the tests across centres in the UK between 1 June 2022 and 14 August 2023, disguising herself and doctoring ID documents to evade detection.
The Life in the UK Test is a requirement for anyone seeking to obtain indefinite leave to remain or naturalisation as a British citizen. It consists of 24 questions aimed at proving the applicant has sufficient knowledge of British values, history and society.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Fraudsters completing the test for others could lead to people wrongly being granted the right to remain in the country without the proper due diligence, putting the public at risk.
“This arrest represents one of the most prolific cases of this type of offending encountered by Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial investigators.”
They said the woman remains in custody.
Immigration enforcement criminal and financial investigation inspector Phillip Parr added: “This operation is the result of a complex investigation by the criminal and financial investigation team.
“This individual is believed to have orchestrated a pre-meditated plan to avoid detection, meticulously selecting disguises and test centre locations across the country to evade the authorities.
“As with many criminals who commit this type of crime, we believe her motive was financial gain.”
He said investigators have “put a stop to this dangerous scheme”.
Source: independent.co.uk
