Britain handed a contract to provide English tests for UK visa applicants to education company Pearson, in one of the first announcements to be made since the election of a new government four days ago.
Britain follows Australia in using Pearson to carry out English testing for people who need to demonstrate their language skills to obtain a visa to live or work in the country.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a commanding majority in a general election on Friday, with a promise to deliver Brexit as well as reduce immigration by using an “Australian-style” points-based immigration system.
Pearson, a publisher of textbooks and provider of online educational tools and tests, said on Monday it won a contract with the UK Home Office to provide English language tests in digital format for at least three years beginning in 2020.
The deal covers those needing to prove their language skills for work and some study visas, known as academic tests, as well as those making family, settlement and citizenship visa applications.
Pearson said its Australian contract has helped grow revenues from its English-testing business by 450% to 77 million pounds over the three years to 2018 and that the academic test was one of the fastest-growing parts of the company.
In the UK, Pearson will be one of four approved providers of the academic test.
