The Home Office published a review on 29 January 2026 of how higher education providers assess the English language ability of prospective international students, based on a survey of 144 providers.
Published on 29 January 2026, the Review of English language assessment methods is a Home Office research report. It sets out the processes higher education providers (HEPs) currently follow to check that international students meet the English language standard set by the Home Office. It is linked to the Government's commitment to reduce the potential for abuse on the Student and Graduate routes.
The findings come from an online survey open from 10 March to 14 April 2025. In all, 343 contacts across more than 200 HEPs were invited to take part, and 144 fully completed responses were received, a response rate of 42%.
Accepted evidence. Secure English language tests (SELTs) were accepted by 99% of HEPs. Other accepted evidence included international English subject qualifications (93%), non-SELT tests (92%), degrees taught in English (92%), local English subject qualifications (83%) and pre-sessional or pathway courses (78%). In-house English testing was provided by 35%.
Test providers. IELTS was accepted by 99% and Pearson PTE by 94%. LanguageCert and Trinity College London were each accepted by 78%, and Skills for English by 53%. Among non-SELT providers, TOEFL (89%) and Cambridge English (86%) were accepted by more than half of HEPs.
Verification. Without prompting, 80% of HEPs said they used a test provider's website or portal to verify English language documents. Some 59% spent 30 minutes or less reviewing the English language documents for one application. Some 92% offered fraud prevention training, and 50% had a written policy to detect or prevent fraud.
Fraud. Some 12% of HEPs had not encountered fraud. A further 71% had met it rarely, very rarely or almost never, 16% sometimes and 2% often. The most common ways of dealing with fraud were student withdrawal (87%) and internal review (82%).
Challenges. The main barriers were limited access to approved testing centres (56%) and difficulty ensuring consistency across providers (51%). Clarity and consistency of government policy guidance was cited by 28%.
What this means for applicants
The report describes what the 144 responding HEPs say they do. Most accept a SELT, many also accept other tests or qualifications, and 80% said without prompting that they use the test provider's online website or portal to verify English language documents. Withdrawal of the student was the most common response to fraud among the HEPs surveyed (87%).
Related guide
UK visa English language requirements
Sources
- Review of English language assessment methods, Home Office, 29 January 2026