Rejected on the grounds of English Language Requirement

[ericjohn]

Hi -

I'm a british citizen and my wife, who is an Indian citizen, had applied for settlement visa, and the visa has been rejected under english language requirement although with the below comment:

You do not meet the eligibility English language requirement of paragraphs E-ECP 4.1 to 3.2 because you are not exempt from the English language requirement under paragraph E-ECP 4.2. In addition, you are not a national of a majority English speaking country listed in paragraph GEN 1.6 and have not passed an English language test (A1 Level of Common European Framework) with a provider approved by UKVI and/or d not hold an academic qualification recognised by NARIC UK to be the equivalent to the standard of a Bachelor's or Masters degree or PhD in the UK, which was taught in English. You have also not provided any details that there are any exceptional compassionate circumstances that would prevent you from meeting the English language requirement.

In support of your application you have provided an IELTS Academic certificate issued on 13/08/2016; however this which is not an English language test which is approved by the Secretary of State for the purpose of settlement. Every English language test taken on or after 6 April 2015 by a partner or parent applicant must meet the new requirement in respect of the approved tests, providers and secure test centres offered by Trinity College London or the IELTS SELT Consortium. Your application has therefore been refused under paragraph EC-P.1.1(d) of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules (E-ECP.4.1).

We have the right to appeal the decision in 28 days. All other requirements have been satisfied and this is the only point of refusal. Can you please advise on the below points?

1. My understanding from reading the above is that the IELTS test my wife undertook in Aug 2016 was not part of IELTS SELT and hence has been rejected - is this interpretation correct?
2. What is the best course of action - should we appeal or make a fresh application? She has a 7.5 in IELTS Academic and from what I see on IELTS SELT website, it also has IELTS Academic - do we have a ground for appeal here based on this?
3. If we take a new IELTS SELT exam should we make a new application or can we include it as part of the appeal?
4. In general what is the best course of action on cases like this - is appeal better or a fresh application- esp based on time taken?

[ericjohn]

Also, if you are an immigration lawyer and you think can you can help us, please get in touch (email address removed by moderator)

[CR001]

Also, if you are an immigration lawyer and you think can you can help us, please get in touch (email address removed by moderator)

Members on the forum who might be qualified to offer advice are not permitted to advertise the fact. Members are also not permitted to post personal contact details.

IELTS Academic is the wrong test for a spouse visa. She needs IELTS A1 Life Skills. IELTS Academic is only for applicants who wish to study in the UK on a Student visa.

https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/ie ... ielts-ukvi

Test Version

Purpose
IELTS Academic**
This test is for test takers wishing to study at undergraduate or postgraduate levels, and for those seeking professional registration in the UK.

IELTS General Training
This test is for test takers wishing to migrate to the UK and for those wishing to train or study below degree level.

IELTS Life Skills A1
This test is for those who need to prove their English speaking and listening skills as part of their application to UK Visas and Immigration for ‘family of a settled person’ visas.

IELTS Life Skills A2 *
This test is for those who need to prove their English speaking and listening skills as part of their application to UK Visas and Immigration for extension to Family, Spouse or Partner visa.

IELTS Life Skills B1
This test is for those who need to prove their English speaking and listening skills as part of their application to UK Visas and Immigration for indefinite leave to remain or citizenship.

Appeals can take many months. It is quicker to reapply.

[taffet87]

IELTS Academic is of two types

IELTS Academic and IELTS Academic for UKVI

Both have the same fees and acceptance in other places but UKVI only accepts the latter... (same for IELTS General).

The only difference is that when you show up for the test there is some added security..

So it looks like you just used a simple IELTS Academic and not IELTS Academic for UKVI .. so the options now are to do a new english test which meets UKVI requirements for spouse visa.... your spouse can definitely do an easier test for UKVI purposes if her IELTS Academic is good enough for whatever other purposes she did it for..

[taffet87]

and you will need to make a new application after a new test which fully meets the requiremetns

[seagul]

Simply do IELTS life skills B1 which can cover A1 & A2 level due to being slightly higher in level.

[ericjohn]

Thanks everyone for your reply. It looks like reapplication is the best way to go than appealing.

The date for next IELTS A1 exam is over a month away. And my wife is a medical professional with a medical degree from India (taught in English) and we were wondering if getting a NARIC certificate proving english taught qualification would be enough for the reapplication or would we need to put in both NARIC and IELTS A1 test results? Can you please advise?

Also, can you please advise what would be the best way to reduce the processing time for the reapplication? Our initial application took over 3 months and it would be hard to wait for another 3 months just because of such a small issue.

[seagul]

NARIC red route report or Ielts A1 life skills test both will have similar importance which is your own choice and neither of them will speed up the application. However as per common sense reappllication by supplying missing documents might give prompt outcome.

[vinny]

See also rejected.