How UK citizenship tests are 'abused' !

[TinTinTin]

Foreign nationals are being offered ways to ensure they pass UK citizenship tests, a BBC investigation has found. Fraudsters are recruiting stand-ins to sit the tests, while one language school has been providing candidates with answers.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7331550.stm

[thirdwave]

Foreign nationals are being offered ways to ensure they pass UK citizenship tests, a BBC investigation has found. Fraudsters are recruiting stand-ins to sit the tests, while one language school has been providing candidates with answers.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7331550.stm

Presumably it`ll be easy to spot the cheaters at the interview stage if they ever apply for a British passport?

[Sammie]

Well, it was bound to happen.
Most people who were born British and have lived in the UK all their lives would have difficulty in passing that test, so what chance do the foreigners have?!

[Siggi]

Most people who were born British and have lived in the UK all their lives would have difficulty in passing that test,

Sammy that is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever heard.
Where on earth did you pick up your this information?

UK life life could be completed by a 10 year old English speaker, within the given 45 minutes and pass.!!

[gaman]

Most people who were born British and have lived in the UK all their lives would have difficulty in passing that test,

Sammy that is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever heard.
Where on earth did you pick up your this information?

UK life life could be completed by a 10 year old English speaker, within the given 45 minutes and pass.!!

Well, I recently sat the UK test exam and I can tell you that it is not an easy exam. Who can tell offhand % of illigal drugs users in the UK, number of national members in Northern Ireland.. ?

have a look here

[Siggi]

Gaman,

Both my wife and I sat this test last year and completed it in under 7 minutes .
To be honest I felt it wa a insult to my meager intelligence and by no means a test of our English ability.

[sashank]

Gaman,

Both my wife and I sat this test last year and completed it in under 7 minutes .
To be honest I felt it wa a insult to my meager intelligence and by no means a test of our English ability.

I felt that too.

[global gypsy]

Well, the test may be easy for some, but can be very difficult for others.

I looked thru the questions mentioned at the link provided:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 554235.ece

and found most of them to be quite pointless.
I don't believe they are indicators of one's Britishness in any sense of the word (except bureaucratic, perhaps).

[try-one]

My wife and I passed the test; the information is useful, important and would help you understand new things about the UK life.
it is the minimum you could ask from anyone wanting to live in the Uk permanently;

The fraud just shows how people abuse the immigration system!

[Christophe]

Well, the test may be easy for some, but can be very difficult for others.

I looked thru the questions mentioned at the link provided:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 554235.ece

and found most of them to be quite pointless.
I don't believe they are indicators of one's Britishness in any sense of the word (except bureaucratic, perhaps).

The test can be studied for, but some people will find it hard — some people are, of course, less intelligent than others, but some people are less "studial" than others too: in other words, some people have never seriously been students whereas others have (and this is related to background and not necessarily to intelligence) .

Myself, I think the motivation behind the tests is reasonable enough, but the test itself is flawed. I'm not sure if the test is attempting to examine one's "Britishness", but if it is then that's a hopeless cause in any case, since no one has been able to define satisfactorily just what that word means. In terms of testing the candidate's knowledge of life in the UK, it doesn't really do that either: by reducing "life in the UK" to a series of facts that can be learned and tested by multiple-choice style questions, any real sense of "life in the UK" is reduced and possibly lost. After all, I could learn facts about Chile or Ethiopia, but it wouldn't necessarily mean that I had a good sense of what really makes those countries function and what their national spirit or "soul" is like.

I suppose the test is a reasonable indication of one's ability in English, up to a point — but a person with a certain degree of knowledge, or a good ability at languages, would probably be able to learn enough to provide the right answers without necessarily being adept at English as a living means of communication in ordinary circumstances.

Short of asking people more discursive questions in the test or having all candidates interviewed in some depth (neither of which is practicable for a number of reasons), it is hard to see how the testing of "life in the UK" can really be significantly improved, however. However, a simple face-to-face discussion with candidates would give a good indication of language ability, it must be said. And it really ought to be possible in any case to prevent wide-scale fraud, which has been alleged (without, that is, having to resort to identity cards).

[pantaiema]

I fully agree with this. The reason why people did not pass is that because they do not do somepreparation. Rememebr you need to read the book, memeoraise some information ,etc.

Most people who were born British and have lived in the UK all their lives would have difficulty in passing that test,

Sammy that is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever heard.
Where on earth did you pick up your this information?

UK life life could be completed by a 10 year old English speaker, within the given 45 minutes and pass.!!

[Fairtrade]

The Test is way too easy. Anybody found cheating in the test should be refused citizenship for life. The test is the minimum requirement that citizens can do to show they want to integrate. Other countries have far more difficult citizenship tests. The Netherlands for one makes sure their new citizens proof they can read, write and speak Dutch before they even allowed to travel to the Netherlands to join their spouses.

[TinTinTin]

I personally don't feel these tests add any value for anyone. Again this is a debatable topic and in my opinion it’s a revenue generator and another hurdle in the process.

A Theoretical driving test makes lots of value for the driver, for DVLA, for the whole nation.
Do you think Life in UK tests add any value of these sort?

What is the benefit anyone gets whether 'Guy Fawkes Night' falls in November of in May ?

Many useful info which you learn like 'NHS' etc is touched in everyone’s day-2-day life

Coming back to the point on whether its easy or not easy.. ..Whether u can complete in 7 mins(No offence here!) or in 60 mins.. The point is as pointed in the earlier post, it needs homework!
I completed in around 10 mins, because I’m used to these type of learning and taking objective tests since my childhood days. Do you think my grand-ma will pass this ? Never ! So if you survey the failure statistics, then you can see a pattern.

[JAJ]

rk!
I completed in around 10 mins, because I’m used to these type of learning and taking objective tests since my childhood days. Do you think my grand-ma will pass this ? Never !

If she is aged 65+ she is exempted.

[global gypsy]

I know I can max the test once I prepare for a week or so. (I happen to be one of those test-savvy people.) However, that still doesn't take away from the fact that the test is poorly designed and has only marginal relevance to what it's supposed to be testing for, i.e. Life in the UK.

And it doesn't help to compare it against some other country's test and claim it's better or simpler. I know for a fact that Canada's citizenship test is free, they provide free reading material, and even offer free classes to those who wish to prepare for the test.

[macaroni]

I would have preferred learning the geography of the UK.

The information in the study guide seems hurriedly put together. The statistics did not quite tally- try adding the percentages given and iirc they just don't add up. There are discrepencies with the numbers iirc.

I have no idea what the words are to the British Anthem. Whilst I am not fond of anthems or flags, it would be pertinent to someone about to become a permanent resident or citizen.


Some details about more recent history- would have been good.

[jei2]

We seem to have forgotten that the same questions don't come up for everyone. Moreover the passmark isn't 100%. If it were, there would be a lot more crybabies here.

In all fairness - and speaking as someone who loves quizzes, I believe an element of luck is always involved. I'd be confident of passing the test on most days, but would never expect to get 100% on any day.

In any case, the tests are not about cleverness or even swotting. The government doesn't give a fig whether we know what a Quango is or the percentage of under-18s in the UK.

The only function of Life in the UK is to help reduce the number of people who can apply for citizenship - regardless of their character and suitability.

[global gypsy]

At least they can keep the damn thing free. They even charge for the prep material. Shame on them.

Citizenship test and the prep material are free for Canada and Australia.
Canada: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenshi ... .asp#ready
Australia: http://www.citizenship.gov.au/test/index.htm

UK's citizenship test is a pure money-grabbing exercise.

[jei2]

UK's citizenship test is a pure money-grabbing exercise.

Oh yes - that too!

And thanks global gypsy for letting me see that I could have used "damn" instead of "fig"!