The South China Morning Post reports that residents of mainland China will no longer be permitted to take the paper-based IELTS in Hong Kong unless they can prove that they are legal residents of the city. This mirrors recent IELTS policy changes in countries around the world which have also barred non-residents from accessing the paper-based test.
Interestingly, a British Council representative linked this change to fraud prevention. They are quoted as saying that “the analysis by the IELTS partners shows that there is a link between non-resident access to IELTS on paper and fraudulent test-day activity.”
And also that “By limiting the access to residents, much of this risk will be mitigated.”
They also noted that the change would “enhance the security of the test and… protect IELTS customers from becoming victims of fraud.”
This is the first time I’ve seen an IELTS official explicitly link the new policy to fraud prevention efforts. Unstated is what sort of fraudulent activity is occurring at administrations of the paper-based IELTS. The British Council’s most recent fraud report cited only 22 instances of exam misconduct across all administrations (paper and computer) worldwide in 2022/23.