What English test do I need for ILR?

The level: B1 now, B2 from 26 March 2027

Indefinite leave to remain has a knowledge of language and life requirement with two halves. For applications made before 26 March 2027, the language half asks most adult applicants under 65 to show English at level B1 or above on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), in speaking and listening only. Reading and writing are not tested for settlement. B1 is the "intermediate" band: holding a conversation about everyday topics, following the main points of clear speech, and explaining plans or opinions in simple connected sentences.

Work routes with no English requirement at settlement

The Immigration Rules set no English requirement at settlement for Skilled Worker (including Health and Care Worker) and Scale-up main applicants applying before 26 March 2027, because they proved English for the visa. Innovator Founder and T2 Minister of Religion main applicants have no settlement English requirement either, and HC 1691 does not add one. This covers the main applicant only: a partner or adult child settling as a dependant on these routes still needs B1.

Be careful with the other work routes. GOV.UK’s English language page also lists International Sportsperson and Representative of an Overseas Business among the exempt work visas, but the route rules (ISP 16.1 and ROB 17.1) and Global Talent (GT 13.1) require B1 in speaking and listening at settlement, unless an exemption such as age applies. International Sportsperson and Representative of an Overseas Business only needed A1 on entry, and Global Talent needed no English at all, so the earlier application does not show B1. Go by the Rules.

The rise to B2

Statement of Changes HC 1691 (laid 5 March 2026) raises the settlement level to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027. It covers most routes, including the five-year partner and parent routes, Skilled Worker and Scale-up (main applicants and dependants), Global Talent, International Sportsperson, Representative of an Overseas Business, UK Ancestry, long residence, private life and ten-year family life, plus dependants on the Innovator Founder and T2 Minister of Religion routes. From that date Skilled Worker and Scale-up main applicants also need to show English at the settlement stage. The Hong Kong BN(O) route stays at B1 (HK 60.1). The rule applies to people already part-way through a route, so if you will apply after 26 March 2027, plan for B2. A B2 or higher SELT pass satisfies a B1 requirement too, so there is no disadvantage in testing at B2 now if you comfortably can.

Ways to meet it

1. 1Pass a Secure English Language Test (SELT) at the required level in speaking and listening, taken with a Home Office approved provider at an approved test centre. In the UK the approved providers are Trinity College London (GESE or ISE Secure English Language Tests for UKVI), IELTS SELT Consortium (IELTS for UKVI or IELTS Life Skills), LANGUAGECERT and Pearson; check the current list and the minimum grades on GOV.UK because approvals change. Only a test booked as a SELT counts — an ordinary IELTS or Pearson certificate for university admission does not.
2. 2Hold a bachelor's degree, master's degree or doctorate. A degree awarded in the UK qualifies on its own. A degree from outside the UK needs Ecctis confirmation that it meets the UK bachelor's standard or higher and either was taught at a university or college in Ireland or in a majority-English-speaking country on the Home Office list other than Canada, or was taught or researched in English.
3. 3Be a national of a majority-English-speaking country on the Home Office list — for example Australia, Canada, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand or the United States. Your passport is the evidence. Ireland is on the list for citizenship only, not settlement. Some countries where English is widely spoken, such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa, are not on the list, so nationals of those countries take a SELT or rely on a degree.
4. 4Have already met the requirement, at the level now required, in a previous successful application for entry clearance or permission to stay.
5. 5Hold a GCSE, International GCSE, A level, Scottish National 4 or 5, or Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English language or literature from an Ofqual, SQA, Qualifications Wales or CCEA regulated awarding body, awarded after education at a UK school that began while you were under 18.

You need only one of these. The online application form asks which route you are relying on and lists the evidence to upload; see the full ILR document checklist for the rest of the bundle.

Reusing a test you already passed

If you already showed English at the level your ILR application needs in a previous successful application, the rules treat the requirement as met. A SELT normally has to have been awarded in the two years before you apply. GOV.UK allows an older B1, B2, C1 or C2 result for settlement if both of these apply: the test is on the current list of approved SELTs, and it was accepted for an earlier UK immigration application. Keep the certificate or its unique reference number.

Three situations where you may have to test again: your earlier visa accepted a lower level (the partner route accepts A1 or A2 at earlier stages, which is below the settlement standard), you never proved English because your original route did not require it, or you will apply on or after 26 March 2027 and your earlier pass was only B1. In any of these cases, book a SELT at the level you need well ahead of your application date — test slots and result turnaround can take weeks in busy periods, and your earliest ILR date will not wait for them.

Who is exempt

• Age. Applicants under 18 or aged 65 or over on the date of application do not need to meet the language requirement. A child who turns 18 before applying is not exempt.
• Long-term physical or mental condition. If a condition prevents you from meeting the requirement, GOV.UK asks for a completed exemption form from a doctor, with current medical reports. The exemption is assessed case by case; the same evidence covers the Life in the UK test.
• Certain routes. Besides the work routes above, GOV.UK lists settlement categories that do not need to prove English — for example refugees, people with humanitarian protection or discretionary leave, bereaved partners, and victims of domestic abuse settling as the partner of a British or settled person. Check the route-specific GOV.UK page if you are not on a standard work or family route.

Exemption is from the test, not from the application. You still apply in the normal way and select the exemption in the form.

Not the same as the Life in the UK test

The other half of the requirement is knowledge of life in the UK, proven by the Life in the UK test. It is a separate booking, a separate fee and a separate pass, and people regularly confuse the two or assume one covers the other:

• It is a 45-minute computer-based test of 24 questions on British history, values and everyday life, taken in person at an approved test centre. You need to book online at least three days in advance and bring the ID you registered with.
• The pass mark is 75 per cent — 18 correct answers out of 24. A pass does not expire, and the same pass is reused later for British citizenship.
• It applies to the same age band: 18 to 64. The under-18, 65-and-over and long-term condition exemptions mirror those for the language requirement.
• For most people it is taken in English, so in practice it presumes a working level of English, but it does not replace the language requirement.

Keep the pass notification: the application form asks for the unique reference number and the result is checked electronically.

Fitting the tests around your qualifying period

Order of operations

Neither test has to be taken at a particular point in your five years, but any test you need must be passed before you submit the ILR application. A sensible sequence for the final year:

1. 1Work out your earliest application date from your trip record. The free UK ILR calculator tests every rolling 12-month window against the 180-day cap and gives you the date the record supports, 28-day early window included.
2. 2Check whether you need English at all and at what level: Skilled Worker and Scale-up main applicants applying before 26 March 2027 do not, nor do Innovator Founder or T2 Minister of Religion main applicants; most others need B1 before that date and B2 from it. If an earlier application already proved the level you need, gather the evidence; if not, book a SELT at that level with an approved provider for a date at least a month before you plan to apply.
3. 3Book and pass the Life in the UK test. Keep the pass notification with its reference number.
4. 4Assemble the rest of the documents and apply in the 28-day window.

The tests are the part of ILR you control entirely; the absence record is the part that can move your date. The ILR absence calculator keeps that record honest, and the full guide to indefinite leave to remain walks through every requirement — residence, absences, tests, fees and what happens after the grant — in order.

Sources

• GOV.UK — Prove your knowledge of English for citizenship and settling
• GOV.UK — Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT)
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix English Language
• GOV.UK — Statement of changes HC 1691, 5 March 2026 (B2 for settlement from 26 March 2027)
• GOV.UK — Indefinite leave to remain if you have a Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, T2 or Tier 2 visa
• GOV.UK — Life in the UK Test
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker (SW 22A.1)
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix International Sportsperson (ISP 16.1)
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix Representative of an Overseas Business (ROB 17.1)
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (HK 60.1)