The Daily Dazzling Dawn

United Kingdom |

Woman arrested after dressing up in wigs to 'take Life in the UK tests for others'

by DD Staff

January 28, 2025

North Londoner Accused of Citizenship

key takeaways

A woman from North London has been arrested for allegedly employing disguises and wigs to pass the UK citizenship test for at least 14 individuals.

The Home Office said the 61-year-old woman was detained on suspicion of giving applicants "an unfair advantage" by falsifying her Life in the UK test results.

In an attempt to fraudulently gain the male and female applicants' leave to remain, the unnamed lady is accused of wearing a variety of wigs and disguises to pass herself off as them.

Investigators raised an address in Enfield, north London on Monday, finding "several false documents and an array of wigs” alleged to have been used in the fraud.

The Home Office said officers acted on intelligence that between June 1, 2022 and August 14, 2023, the woman allegedly attended multiple test centres in the UK, disguising herself and doctoring ID documents to evade detection from authorities.

Officials 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".

Home Office immigration enforcement criminal and financial investigation inspector Phillip Parr said a "complex investigation" had "put a stop to this dangerous scheme".

Mr Parr added: "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."

The woman remains in custody.

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".