Minister tells MPs potential suppliers will need to demonstrate that any proposals to run online evaluations include “best in class” safeguards capable of preventing people from using technology to cheat
A Home Office minister has acknowledged that the department’s plans to move to “fully remote” testing of visa applicants’ English-language skills faces “challenges” from cheats using artificial intelligence and other technology.
Minister for migration and citizenship Mike Tapp’s comments came in response to a parliamentary question on the assessment the Home Office has made of the risk that remote test takers may use tech to game the new system.
Tapp said the department took the integrity of the Home Office English Language Test (HOELT) seriously, and had looked into “a range of risks”, including those posed by emerging technologies such as AI tools and wearable devices.
He said suppliers seeking to win contracts to provide remote English-language testing would be expected to demonstrate robust anti-cheating capability.
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“The department recognises that technological developments can present new challenges to test security in remote environments,” Tapp said last week. “Any provider appointed through the procurement process will be required to demonstrate that their solution includes best-in-class safeguards capable of addressing these risks. The specification includes requirements for technical and procedural controls to mitigate cheating methods, and this will be a key factor in the evaluation of bids.”
The Home Office’s UK Visas and Immigration section currently allows a range of providers to offer secure English-language tests in the UK and international locations for people seeking the right to live and work in this country.
However, the department is looking to move to fully remote testing from late 2027and ran a recent procurement exercise to seek providers, with an estimated contract value of up to £816m.
The submissions deadline passed earlier this year and bids are still undergoing assessment. US language-learning app Duolingo is reportedly among the companies vying for the contract.
Back in January, Conservative MP Blake Stephenson asked the Home Office what information it held on other countries who use similar methods to the UK’s proposed “digital by default” English-language testing regime.
Tapp did not directly answer the question, but described the HOELT programme as “one of the first” of its kind.
Earlier this month, Stephenson refreshed his question, asking which other countries’ systems had been considered in development of the HOELT. He received a more detailed answer.
Tapp said: “As set out in the answer of 16 January 2026, the Home Office English Language Test will be one of the first primarily remote language testing services for government immigration purposes. In developing this approach, the department considered a range of international systems and models.
“This included reviewing the approaches taken by Australia and Canada, both of which recently reviewed their English-language testing requirements. The department also drew on evidence from other government contexts where digital identity and remote service delivery have been implemented, including existing Home Office delivery models incorporating identification technology, audit and assurance processes, and robust oversight frameworks.”
In August last year, Australia banned the use of remote English-language testing for visa applicants.
