Woman jailed for taking fraudulent citizen tests

A woman who used "an array of wigs" while completing UK citizenship tests for other people has been sentenced to more than four years in jail.

Josephine Maurice, from Enfield in north London, pretended to be both women and men when she took the Life in the UK Test on behalf of 13 applicants between 1 June 2022 and 14 August 2023.

Maurice, a former bus driver, had pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud, a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud and two counts of possession of another person's identity documents.

Sentencing her on Tuesday, District Judge Anthony Callaway, sentencing on Tuesday, described Maurice's actions as "wholesale assault" on the immigration system.

At Snaresbrook Crown Court, Judge Callaway said there was a "clear advantage" to people who wanted to progress towards citizenship without following all the procedures.

The Life in the UK Test is a requirement for anyone seeking to obtain indefinite leave to remain or to become a British citizen.

It consists of 24 questions aimed at proving the applicant has sufficient knowledge of British values, history and society.

Applicants pay £50 to take the test, which includes questions such as "who was king of England at the time of the Norman invasion in 1066":[]}