The B1 English test for citizenship and settlement

Two different exams, not one

The Life in the UK Test and the B1 SELT are two different exams. Different operators, different booking systems, different venues, different fees. The Life in the UK Test is run by PSI Services (UK) Ltd for the Home Office, costs £50, and its centre list is not published. The SELT is run by four commercial providers in the UK (Trinity College London, IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert and Pearson), typically costs from £160, and its approved centre list IS published on GOV.UK as an ODS download.

They are complementary, not alternatives, and they are entirely separate exams. Appendix KoLL paragraph 2.1 makes sufficient knowledge of the English language (paragraph 2.2) and sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom (paragraph 2.3) both conditions of the same requirement. Two practical consequences worth stating plainly: first, a national of a majority English-speaking country is treated as automatically meeting the English part but 'must, however, show they have passed the Life in the UK test'; second, someone who was granted ILR on the basis of a B1 qualification 'can meet the English language requirement for naturalisation without needing to pass another qualification but will be required to pass the Life in the UK test if they have not already done so'. So it is common to need only one of the two at the citizenship stage.

What the B1 test actually tests

Speaking and listening only. This is the single most common misunderstanding. GOV.UK's SELT guidance splits immigration routes into two groups: routes needing a test of 'your reading, writing, speaking and listening abilities' (Health and Care Worker, High Potential Individual, Innovator Founder, Minister of Religion, Scale-up Worker, Skilled Worker, Start-up, Student, Temporary Work – International Agreement), and routes needing a test of 'your speaking and listening abilities' — which is the group containing citizenship, International Sportsperson, parent, partner, Representative of an Overseas Business and settlement. There is no reading or writing paper on the B1 route to citizenship or ILR. A four-skills test at B1 or above also satisfies the requirement, because it includes speaking and listening, but it is longer and dearer and nobody applying for citizenship or settlement needs to take one for that purpose.

The English requirement applies to:

• Naturalisation as a British citizen
• Indefinite leave to remain (settlement) on routes that require KoLL
• Indefinite leave to enter

Which level applies to you

B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), for applications made before 26 March 2027. Appendix KoLL paragraph 2.2(c)(i) requires the online verification system to confirm 'that the applicant has passed an English language test in speaking and listening, at a minimum level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages'. A higher-level qualification also satisfies it — the requirement is B1 'or above'. For indefinite leave to remain applications made on or after 26 March 2027 the same paragraph, as amended on 5 March 2026, requires B2 instead. See pendingChanges.

The approved UK providers

In the UK you may take a SELT with Trinity College London, IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert and Pearson. GOV.UK is clear that the choice is yours — ‘It is for you to decide which test to take’ — and the result counts the same whichever you pick. What matters is booking the right product, because every one of these providers also sells English tests the Home Office will not accept for an immigration application.

Compare the providers side by side — test names, format, length, published fees and which levels each one offers, including A1 and A2 for family visas.

Where you can take the test

Unlike the Life in the UK Test, the SELT centre network is published in full. The Home Office’s current list, dated 11 August 2026, holds 80 approved centres in the UK across 27 towns and cities.

The list names the provider, the centre and the address, but not which levels each centre runs or when it has appointments free. Only the provider’s own booking system can tell you that, so treat a published address as somewhere to check with the provider — never as somewhere to walk in. GOV.UK asks candidates not to contact centres directly.

Booking, ID and what to bring

There is no central Home Office booking site for the SELT and no way to book one through GOV.UK. You choose which approved provider to use — 'It is for you to decide which test to take' — and book directly on that provider's own website. In the UK the choice is Trinity College London, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert or Pearson; outside the UK it is PSI Services (UK) Ltd, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert or Pearson. Before booking, check the exact product name, because each provider also sells non-SELT English tests that the Home Office will not accept: the approved names are 'IELTS for UKVI' or 'IELTS Life Skills'; 'LANGUAGECERT International ESOL SELT', 'LANGUAGECERT Academic SELT' or 'LANGUAGECERT General SELT'; 'PTE Academic UKVI' or 'PTE Home'; 'Skills for English UKVI'; and, from Trinity, 'Secure English Language Tests for UKVI' — Integrated Skills in English (ISE) or Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE). The booking must be made in the name on the identity document you will bring: 'The details used to book your test must be the same as on your passport or other identity document. If your surname has changed, you will still need to book the test in the name on your passport or identity document.' GOV.UK also warns about resellers: if booking through a third party, confirm 'they are officially recognised by the test provider' and that 'their fees are the same as, or lower than, the price on the test provider's website', noting that 'some third party providers may claim to be affiliated with official Home Office partners when they are not'. The Home Office publishes the full list of approved centres in and outside the UK as ODS spreadsheets on the SELT guidance page, but tells candidates to check the provider's website for availability and not to contact centres directly.

Identity documents accepted

• Passport — accepted for tests taken in the UK and outside the UK
• Convention travel document — accepted in the UK and outside the UK
• Stateless persons travel document — accepted in the UK and outside the UK
• An eVisa — UK tests only; sign in to your UKVI account and get a share code by selecting 'to prove your immigration status for anything else'
• An expired biometric residence permit (BRP) or biometric residence card (BRC), if you cannot access your eVisa — you must take the test no later than 24 months after the expiry date on the card, or by 31 December 2026, whichever is sooner, and bring the original card
• Identity cards of EEA nationals — accepted in the UK or outside the UK, in the country where the document was issued
• Valid photographic government-issued identity cards — outside the UK only, in the country where the document was issued

Whatever document you use, GOV.UK requires it to 'be current and valid; be an original, not a photocopy; include a photo of you; match the information you gave when you booked the test'. If the document carries a signature, that is checked too. 'If you are not able to prove your identity, you will not be allowed to take a test.' Emergency travel documents are not accepted. If the Home Office is holding your passport and you have no other valid document, you can ask for it back so you can sit the test. Anyone with a previous gender or former name they do not want centre staff to see should email sensitivebookings@homeoffice.gov.uk before booking.

How soon you can sit it

GOV.UK's expectation is that 'You should be able to take a test within 28 days of booking, but it may not always be at the location nearest to you.' If there is no approved location in your country you may have to travel to another country. Actual availability varies by provider and city; LanguageCert advertises frequent daily slots in the UK and Trinity advertises exams seven days a week, but neither is a Home Office guarantee. Note the contrast with the Life in the UK Test, which must be booked at least 3 days in advance — the two booking systems have nothing to do with each other.

On the day

The identity document you booked with, and nothing that the centre prohibits. Trinity candidates sitting GESE must also bring a completed Topic Form prepared in advance: 'You must complete a Topic Form in advance and bring it with you to the exam.' LanguageCert asks candidates to arrive 30 minutes before the start time with valid photo ID. You do not need to bring anything to prove your eligibility for the visa or citizenship application — the centre only checks identity. Reasonable adjustments must be requested at the time of booking: 'You can make special requests when you book your test if, for example, you have a disability and need extra equipment or help accessing the test location.'

Results, reference number and validity

How long results take

It depends on the provider, and each publishes its own figure. Trinity: provisional GESE results emailed by 9am the day after the exam, with a link to the digital certificate within 4 to 7 days of the exam date. LanguageCert: provisional results within a few minutes, official results in 3 working days. Pearson: score report 'usually within 48 hours', and Pearson says PTE Home results are shared with the Home Office automatically. PSI Skills for English: results 'available in as little as 3 to 5 days'. IELTS does not state a Life Skills turnaround on the pages we were able to verify, so no figure is given here.

Your SELT unique reference number

Passing gets you a SELT unique reference number (URN), and that number — not a certificate — is what goes on the application form. GOV.UK: 'After you pass the test, you will be given a SELT unique reference number which you must use when making your application. If you do not include your reference number, your application may be refused.' It is labelled differently by each provider: 'UER' for Trinity College London tests, 'UKVI number' for IELTS SELT Consortium tests, 'Candidate URN' for LANGUAGECERT tests, 'SELT URN' for Pearson tests, and 'URN' for PSI Skills for English tests. No documents are submitted with the application: 'Test results and scores are checked using the SELT online verification system provided by each approved SELT test provider using a SELT unique reference number.' Caseworker guidance describes the URN format as 'XXX / 123456 / 123456 / 123456789', made up of the first three letters of the provider's name, the date of the test, the test centre number and the candidate number, and notes that if the test does not appear on the provider's online verification system the application does not meet the English language requirement. The Life in the UK Test issues its own, separate URN from a PSI account — do not confuse the two on the application form.

How long a pass lasts

Two years. GOV.UK: 'Test results are valid for 2 years from the date the test is awarded', and a result must 'have been awarded in the two years before the date of your application'. There are two important carve-outs in the Home Office caseworker guidance. For ILR, an expired result can still be accepted where the qualification 'is from one of the providers on the current SELT list' and 'has previously been accepted by us as part of another immigration application, such as for entry clearance'. For naturalisation, 'A person who successfully made an application for indefinite leave to remain based on a B1 level qualification can meet the English language requirement for naturalisation without needing to pass another qualification. This is regardless of whether the original qualification is on the current SELT list.' In plain terms: most people who used a B1 test to get ILR do not have to sit it again for citizenship, however old the certificate is. A test taken in the UK can be used for overseas applications and vice versa.

If you do not pass

There is no Home Office limit on how many times you may sit a SELT, but there is no free national retake either: you rebook and pay the provider again unless their own terms say otherwise. On four-skills tests only, GOV.UK allows a partial resit in some cases: 'In certain circumstances, if you failed one component of the test, you may be allowed to sit that component again. You will need to check the test provider's terms and conditions before booking a test.' That does not arise on the two-skills B1 test used for citizenship and settlement, where speaking and listening are assessed together. Provider retake offers exist and change: Trinity sells 'Exam Protect' for £35 on top of the exam fee, which allows one retake and one reschedule; LanguageCert advertises a free re-sit under a promotion. Both are commercial terms set by the provider, not Home Office rules, so check them at the point of booking. Where two or more components are examined and awarded together, GOV.UK requires the necessary scores in all relevant components 'with the same test centre provider as part of the combined test assessment'.

Who does not have to take it

A great many applicants never sit a SELT. You are exempt if you are 65 or over, and for settlement if you are under 18. Nationals of a list of majority English-speaking countries are treated as meeting the English requirement automatically, as is anyone whose degree was taught or researched in English. A long-term physical or mental condition can also justify a waiver, on medical evidence.

The move from B1 to B2 in 2027

The rule that applies today is B1 in speaking and listening. That is not in doubt: Appendix KoLL, as it currently stands, requires B1 'where the date of application is before 26 March 2027'. What has changed is what happens after that date. On 5 March 2026 the government laid a statement of changes to the Immigration Rules and the explanatory memorandum says: 'This change increases the English language requirement for settlement to B2 level under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) for a number of immigration routes where the existing requirement is at B1 level.' The listed routes are those covered by Appendix KoLL, Appendix Skilled Worker, Appendix Tier 2 Minister of Religion, Appendix Representative of an Overseas Business, Appendix UK Ancestry, Appendix Global Talent, Appendix Scale Up, Appendix Innovator Founder, Appendix International Sportsperson, Appendix Child Relative (Sponsors with Protection), Appendix Long Residence, Appendix Bereaved Partner, Appendix Private Life and Appendix Settlement Family Life, with consequential amendments to Appendix English Language. The memorandum states: 'These changes will come into force on 26 March 2027' and that commencement was deferred by a year 'in order to provide those subject to the new requirements with sufficient opportunity to take any steps necessary to meet them'. It also confirms the change 'will therefore apply to those already on a pathway to settlement in the UK'. The Home Office news story of 5 March 2026 described it as a move from a GCSE-equivalent standard to an A-level-equivalent one, and said roughly 200 hours of learning typically separates the two levels. Two cautions on scope. First, this is an Immigration Rules change and Appendix KoLL governs indefinite leave to enter or remain — the memorandum does not mention naturalisation, and the requirement for British citizenship sits in the British Nationality Act 1981 and its regulations. The Home Office KoLL caseworker guidance, version 31.0 published for staff on 18 December 2025, still states B1 for naturalisation and had not been reissued when we checked on 13 August 2026. Anyone writing about the citizenship route should say what the settlement change does and does not cover rather than assuming it transfers. Second, the news headline 'Higher standard of English now required to settle in the UK' is misleading if read literally: nothing about the level required changed on the day it was published. Separately and still unresolved: the May 2025 white paper 'Restoring control over the immigration system' proposed a wider 'earned settlement' model, and the consultation 'A Fairer Pathway to Settlement' ran from 20 November 2025 to 11:59pm on 12 February 2026. As at 13 August 2026 the GOV.UK consultation page still reads 'We are analysing your feedback' and no outcome document has been published. Proposals in that consultation — including a longer default qualifying period and a one-year reduction for C1-level English — are proposals only and must never be written up as current law.

B1 English test questions

Sources

Read directly from the official pages below rather than summarised from elsewhere. Last reviewed 13 August 2026. The Immigration Rules and the approved provider list both change — confirm the current position on GOV.UK before you book or apply.

• Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT) — GOV.UK guidance, last updated 12 August 2026 — accessed 13 August 2026.
• Immigration Rules Appendix KoLL — GOV.UK — accessed 13 August 2026.
• Knowledge of language and life in the UK: caseworker guidance (accessible) — version 31.0, published for Home Office staff 18 December 2025 — accessed 13 August 2026.
• Prove your knowledge of English for citizenship and settling — GOV.UK — accessed 13 August 2026.
• Family visas: apply, extend or switch — Knowledge of English — GOV.UK — accessed 13 August 2026.
• List of approved secure English language tests taken in the UK (ODS) — Home Office — accessed 13 August 2026.
• List of approved SELT test centres in the UK, from August 2026 (ODS) — Home Office, dated 11 August 2026 — accessed 13 August 2026. Confirmed on 13 August 2026 as the newest edition GOV.UK publishes, by reading the attachment list on the SELT guidance page rather than reusing a stored link. Downloaded and parsed: 80 UK centre rows, all 'Available'.
• Explanatory memorandum to the statement of changes in the Immigration Rules: HC 1691, 5 March 2026 — GOV.UK — accessed 13 August 2026.
• Higher standard of English now required to settle in the UK — Home Office news story, 5 March 2026 — accessed 13 August 2026.
• Earned settlement — GOV.UK consultation, closed 12 February 2026, outcome not yet published — accessed 13 August 2026.
• Life in the UK Test — GOV.UK — accessed 13 August 2026.
• Trinity College London — published fees. https://www.trinitycollege.com/qualifications/SELT (GESE £160.00, ISE £200.00) and https://www.trinitycollege.com/qualifications/SELT/B1-GESE-grade-5 ('All Trinity SELT GESE exams cost £160'), both accessed 13 August 2026. The £35 Exam Protect figure is not on either of those pages and comes from https://www.trinitycollege.com/qualifications/SELT/why-choose-Trinity/Exam-Protect, also accessed 13 August 2026.
• LanguageCert — published fees. https://selt.languagecert.org/ and https://www.languagecert.org/en/uk-visa-exams, both accessed 13 August 2026