Four men embroiled in a fraud scandal uncovered by BBC Panorama in 2014 have been sentenced to prison for rigging 800 TOEIC tests in an effort to help test-takers cheat the UK’s immigration system.

The National Union of Students held an emergency organising meeting this week as many international students are still caught up in detentions and deportations from the TOEIC fraud scandal.

The UK’s Home Affairs Committee has said that “serious questions” have been raised about the conduct of the Home Office over its treatment of international students in the ETS TOEIC cheating scandal.

A formal inquiry will be opened into the Home Office’s mistreatment of international students during its investigation into fraudulent ETS TOEIC English language exams.

In a landmark ruling that could see many international students returning to the UK, an immigration tribunal has condemned the Home Office for deporting students for alleged exam deception in 2014 without confirming their role in the deception.

The UK government has revoked the licence of 16 private colleges in its investigation into immigration fraud launched in June saying "If a college addresses the serious concerns we have identified, they may get their licence back; if not, we reserve the right to revoke it permanently."

Julian Huppert, MP for Cambridgeshire, has slammed the Home Office for its handling of the investigation into suspected exam and visa fraud describing its actions as "incredibly cavalier" and that it was “absolutely wrong to name and shame” the private colleges and universities without evidence of foul play.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education is conducting an independent inquiry into higher education delivered through London branch campuses, after an investigation by the Home Office found that some 45,000 immigrants may have fraudulently obtained English language test certificates.