Under the new £816m contract, which could be operational by December, English exams for Home Office visas would become "fully digital" and could be sat at a location of an applicant's choosing. The letter, seen by the BBC, said there was a danger applicants would be able to fake test results with the help of imposters and AI. At the moment, migrants who want to study or work in the UK need to show they can speak English to internationally recognised standards by taking tests at one of more than 1,300 test centres around the world. But in November last year, the Home Office launched a tender for "fully remote" English tests to run for five years from December 2026 at the earliest. It is comprised of the British Council, the UK's national cultural and educational organisation; Cambridge University Press and Assessments; and IDP, a large Australian education company. "Given the importance of secure English language testing for the UK's immigration system and the protection of our borders, we cannot endorse the proposed approach by bidding for this tender while retaining our commitment to responsible, trusted and secure assessment," it said.