My Experience at NCS

[guaravd]

I would like to share my experience at NCS and was wondering if anyone else experienced the similar thing.

I applied on 5yrs + 1yr ILR basis along with my dependent.

For English Language requirement, both myself and my spouse ticked the option "I met the knowledge of language and life requirement to qualify for settlement on or after 28th October 2013; However, since my spouse used B1 Certification from Trinity to prove her language requirement, the lady at NCS insisted that she need to see the certificate and require a copy of it. I argued that the certificate was not required as it was used for settlement application hence I have ticked "I met the knowledge of language and life requirement to qualify for settlement on or after 28th October 2013; but NCS lady insisted to see the certificate for her to tick that option on her checklist. We did produce the certificate and she took a copy of it too and attached it to the application form.
The lady was really nice and polite but I was wondering if the certificate was absolute necessity for her plus she also went ahead and ticked the option "I have a speaking and listening qualification in English at B1 CEFR or higher, that is on the Home Office’s list of recognised tests and was taken at an approved test centre".....she did mention that this will save time for case worker to go into my spouses past records to verify this information since it is already verified by NCS (not sure how relevant this information is though)

Similarly, since my degree was listed on UKBA website for which I had claimed points for language in my settlement application, she also went ahead and ticked additional 2 options on the form ie:
I have obtained an academic qualification deemed by UK NARIC to meet the recognised standard of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or PhD in the United Kingdom and:
- UK NARIC has confirmed that the qualification was taught or researched in English
having ticked above options by NCS lady, I wonder it won't confuse case worker even more.
I am still wondering if this is a standard practice at NCS or we were the odd ones

[mrgs1]

Certificate was presented to NCS when we applied and a copy was taken.

[guaravd]

Certificate was presented to NCS when we applied and a copy was taken.

Did they also tick additional option on the form for you "I have a speaking and listening qualification in English at B1 CEFR or higher, that is on the Home Office’s list of recognised tests and was taken at an approved test centre" ?

[mrgs1]

Yes. It then said go to 1.23, ticked Trinity College London and gave the SELT number in the boxes.

[Tea_Rocket]

At least one other person on this forum thought s/he didn't need to provide evidence that s/he met the English language criteria (and overruled the NCS caseworker who asked for it) and ended up receiving a request from the Home Office for all supporting documents, essentially negating the value of applying through an NCS in the first place. Your caseworker probably did your spouse a favour by sending the test information along.

The relevant part of the Form AN guide says on pages 13-14 (bolding mine)

You will need to provide both:

• Letter confirming success in the Life in the UK Test, stamped and signed by the Test Supervisor; and either
• a Home Office approved qualification in English at B1 CEFR or higher, from the Secure English Language Test list. You must ensure that you state the test number at section 1.23 of the form);

or

• confirmation that you met the English language requirement, on or after 28th October 2013, in order to obtain settlement

or

• Your original degree certificate and one of the following:
  • An Academic Qualification Level statement (AQUALS) and English Language Proficiency Statement (ELPS) from UK NARIC (these will show us that UK NARIC are content that your qualification is equivalent to a UK degree and was taught in English).
  • An original and official certificate from your university confirming the degree was taught or researched in a majority English-speaking country (except Canada), plus an Academic Qualification Level statement (AQUALS) from UK NARIC confirming that your qualification is comparable to a UK degree OR
• Your passport showing that you are a national of a majority English speaking country

My reading of that is that unless you're over 65 and are claiming to be in poor health, no one is exempt from proving they fulfil the language requirement—even citizens of majority English speaking countries have to prove it, it's just that the proof is their passport, which is already part of the application. My guess is that the box that says, "I met the knowledge of language and life requirement to qualify for settlement on or after 28th October 2013" is there for people who fulfilled the language requirement when they applied to settle after that date, but whose English test certificates have expired by the time of the naturalisation application. It's essentially saying that they don't need to sit another English language test for naturalisation. I would still expect that they'd have to send the expired test pass letter along with their application as the "confirmation" that is asked for.

Was your spouse's English test pass still valid? If so, that might be why your caseworker filled in the parts of the form relating to the test. Did you have your degree certificate with you and was that copied and sent along to the Home Office as well?

I realise that some people have been approved for naturalisation without sending along extra evidence that they fulfil the language requirement, but it's not something I would suggest anyone try, especially if they do still have the documentation.

[mrgs1]

I maybe wrong but wouldn't you be excempt if you were deaf and relied on sign language, or would another test be performed?

[Tea_Rocket]

I maybe wrong but wouldn't you be excempt if you were deaf and relied on sign language, or would another test be performed?

I don't know actually. I imagine it's certainly grounds for an exemption from proving the ability pass any sort of English listening and speaking test, but I could see them still requiring that the applicant demonstrate the ability to read and write in English. You can claim an exemption on the grounds of poor mental and physical health, but I'm not sure how that works in cases of people who are deaf but otherwise healthy.

[guaravd]

At least one other person on this forum thought s/he didn't need to provide evidence that s/he met the English language criteria (and overruled the NCS caseworker who asked for it) and ended up receiving a request from the Home Office for all supporting documents, essentially negating the value of applying through an NCS in the first place. Your caseworker probably did your spouse a favour by sending the test information along.

The relevant part of the Form AN guide says on pages 13-14 (bolding mine)

You will need to provide both:

• Letter confirming success in the Life in the UK Test, stamped and signed by the Test Supervisor; and either
• a Home Office approved qualification in English at B1 CEFR or higher, from the Secure English Language Test list. You must ensure that you state the test number at section 1.23 of the form);

or

• confirmation that you met the English language requirement, on or after 28th October 2013, in order to obtain settlement

or

• Your original degree certificate and one of the following:
  • An Academic Qualification Level statement (AQUALS) and English Language Proficiency Statement (ELPS) from UK NARIC (these will show us that UK NARIC are content that your qualification is equivalent to a UK degree and was taught in English).
  • An original and official certificate from your university confirming the degree was taught or researched in a majority English-speaking country (except Canada), plus an Academic Qualification Level statement (AQUALS) from UK NARIC confirming that your qualification is comparable to a UK degree OR
• Your passport showing that you are a national of a majority English speaking country

My reading of that is that unless you're over 65 and are claiming to be in poor health, no one is exempt from proving they fulfil the language requirement—even citizens of majority English speaking countries have to prove it, it's just that the proof is their passport, which is already part of the application. My guess is that the box that says, "I met the knowledge of language and life requirement to qualify for settlement on or after 28th October 2013" is there for people who fulfilled the language requirement when they applied to settle after that date, but whose English test certificates have expired by the time of the naturalisation application. It's essentially saying that they don't need to sit another English language test for naturalisation. I would still expect that they'd have to send the expired test pass letter along with their application as the "confirmation" that is asked for.

Was your spouse's English test pass still valid? If so, that might be why your caseworker filled in the parts of the form relating to the test. Did you have your degree certificate with you and was that copied and sent along to the Home Office as well?

I realise that some people have been approved for naturalisation without sending along extra evidence that they fulfil the language requirement, but it's not something I would suggest anyone try, especially if they do still have the documentation.

My understanding is that, the whole point of having the question "confirmation that you met the English language requirement, on or after 28th October 2013, in order to obtain settlement" is that you already proved this in your settlement application therefore no further proof is required and that's the reason you tick this option. However, I agree with you on the fact that its good to still produce the proof but this cannot be the sole reason for rejection.
My spouse's certificate was still valid at the time of application and the lady also took copy of my degree certificate.

[Tea_Rocket]

My understanding is that, the whole point of having the question "confirmation that you met the English language requirement, on or after 28th October 2013, in order to obtain settlement" is that you already proved this in your settlement application therefore no further proof is required and that's the reason you tick this option. However, I agree with you on the fact that its good to still produce the proof but this cannot be the sole reason for rejection.

Based on the experiences of other members of the forum, it seems the Home Office will usually ask for more documents if they feel something is missing from an application. That was certainly the case with the poster who refused to send proof of his/her English language skills. If the documents are not provided in a timely manner the application is considered without them, and rejected on the grounds that sufficient evidence that the applicant fulfils the requirements of becoming a UK citizen has not been provided.

The AN form may be ambiguous about whether or not ticking the box that says, "I met the knowledge of language and life requirement to qualify for settlement on or after 28th October 2013" requires documentary evidence to back up the claim, but the guide is pretty clear that it does. The fact that you* have settlement cannot be sufficient as proof that you meet the requirement, otherwise no one who obtained settlement on or after 28 October 2013 would have to prove their English language skills in their naturalisation application, since settlement is a prerequisite for naturalisation. Consider how the UKVI treat the Life in the UK test: you have to show you passed it for your settlement application, and then again for naturalisation. The fact that you obtained settlement is not sufficient as proof that you passed the test when you apply for naturalisation—they need to see the pass letter again. Why would proof of language abilities be any different?

Like I said, I believe the intention of that box is to make the language test like the Life in the UK test for people who received settlement on or after 28 October 2013—once you've passed the test, you don't need to sit another one, but you do still need to show that you passed the test at some point. So in some sense, it's correct to say that "no further proof is needed". It's just that it means "no further proof other than the evidence you submitted for settlement", not "no further proof is needed other than the declaration you make by ticking this box."

*This is the general you, not you personally, guaravd.