Knowledge of English query

[goforukilr]

Hello,

I got my ILR in August 2023 on 5 year ILR route (Tier 2 General in 2018). I proved my knowledge of English on the Tier 2 application using an IELTS test.

Will I need to provide proof for knowledge of English on my citizenship application?

[contorted_svy]

No, you need to tick the relevant boxes on the online form and provide the URN of your test result. no need to take another test.

[goforukilr]

Thanks for your reply. The IELTS test from 2018 is well over 2 years old and I didn't use it for my ILR application as I was exempt (given that I proved my knowledge of English on a prior work visa).
As per the guidance on gov.uk below, I need to provide the evidence for English for citizenship even though I was exempt for the ILR application and on this basis, I reckon I will have to take another test. If you can point to any guidance that confirms otherwise, can you please let me know?

If you’re applying for citizenship
There are no other exemptions if you’re applying to become a British citizen. You must have a relevant English language qualification even if you were exempt when you were granted settlement.

Exemptions if you’re applying to settle
You do not need to prove your knowledge of English if you’re applying to settle:

using certain work visas - because you proved your knowledge of English when you applied for your current visa
in certain other situations
If you’re applying to settle on a work visa
You do not need to prove your knowledge of English if you’re applying to settle using a:

Skilled Worker, T2 or tier 2 visa

[contorted_svy]

Apologies, I misread your query as you having used it to apply for ILR. Yes you will need to take the test in an approved centre.

[AmazonianX]

Thanks for your reply. The IELTS test from 2018 is well over 2 years old and I didn't use it for my ILR application as I was exempt (given that I proved my knowledge of English on a prior work visa).
As per the guidance on gov.uk below, I need to provide the evidence for English for citizenship even though I was exempt for the ILR application and on this basis, I reckon I will have to take another test. If you can point to any guidance that confirms otherwise, can you please let me know?

If you’re applying for citizenship
There are no other exemptions if you’re applying to become a British citizen. You must have a relevant English language qualification even if you were exempt when you were granted settlement.

Exemptions if you’re applying to settle
You do not need to prove your knowledge of English if you’re applying to settle:

using certain work visas - because you proved your knowledge of English when you applied for your current visa
in certain other situations
If you’re applying to settle on a work visa
You do not need to prove your knowledge of English if you’re applying to settle using a:

Skilled Worker, T2 or tier 2 visa

You may try Trinity College London GESE SELT at Level B1.

[goforukilr]

Hi all,

A few follow-up questions if you can help please.
Background - My wife and I have Indian passports and we got ILR in Aug 2023. We are looking to apply for British Citizenship now.

1) I get an option to add a Partner above 18 to the application after I have completed my form. Do I need to add my wife's application in the same account using the above feature OR do I need to setup her application separately? What is the difference between the two approaches?

2) We just noticed that my wife's passport was not stamped upon entry in the UK in Feb 2024. She has a departure stamp from India for the same date. Has the UK Border Control stopped stamping passports now? And what additional documentation (if any) do we need to submit to prove absences/5 years UK residence for her in this case?
2b) Will writing a cover letter to explain this along with return tickets be necessary? I don't want to point to a problem unnecessarily if it doesn't matter and thus please advise if I should do this...

3) A question on my application asks for Tax Office Reference number. Is this my employer's PAYE reference?

4) I now have a B1 cert to prove my English language. I wasn't required to prove the knowledge of English language for my ILR application as I was exempt having proven it on a prior Tier 2 General application.
Did you meet the knowledge of English requirement as part of an indefinite leave application made on or after 28 October 2013? I have answered this as Yes, because the requirement was met (using the Tier 2 General application). For the question on a degree taught in English, I have answered No as I will use the cert from Trinity College London. Is this OK?

4b) For the question - How did you get your result? The options are 1) certificate and 2) unique reference number. I have a certificate from Trinity College London and this certificate has the unique reference number and so, I have both? Am I OK to select the unique reference number as the option and provide the number?

[contorted_svy]

Hi all,

A few follow-up questions if you can help please.
Background - My wife and I have Indian passports and we got ILR in Aug 2023. We are looking to apply for British Citizenship now.

1) I get an option to add a Partner above 18 to the application after I have completed my form. Do I need to add my wife's application in the same account using the above feature OR do I need to setup her application separately? What is the difference between the two approaches? Can do either, no practical difference

2) We just noticed that my wife's passport was not stamped upon entry in the UK in Feb 2024. She has a departure stamp from India for the same date. Has the UK Border Control stopped stamping passports now? And what additional documentation (if any) do we need to submit to prove absences/5 years UK residence for her in this case? Departure stamp form India should be enough, maybe write in the cover letter.
2b) Will writing a cover letter to explain this along with return tickets be necessary? I don't want to point to a problem unnecessarily if it doesn't matter and thus please advise if I should do this... No need to include return tickets.

3) A question on my application asks for Tax Office Reference number. Is this my employer's PAYE reference? No, you need to ask your HR for the Tax Office Reference.

4) I now have a B1 cert to prove my English language. I wasn't required to prove the knowledge of English language for my ILR application as I was exempt having proven it on a prior Tier 2 General application.
Did you meet the knowledge of English requirement as part of an indefinite leave application made on or after 28 October 2013? I have answered this as Yes, because the requirement was met (using the Tier 2 General application). For the question on a degree taught in English, I have answered No as I will use the cert from Trinity College London. Is this OK? This is something that isn't super clear. I would advise using a degree taught in English if you have one or take a test as you didn't prove your knowledge of English for ILR - as you stated, you reused a test you had used before

4b) For the question - How did you get your result? The options are 1) certificate and 2) unique reference number. I have a certificate from Trinity College London and this certificate has the unique reference number and so, I have both? Am I OK to select the unique reference number as the option and provide the number? I would say certificate, if it is OK to provide it (as I stated above, if one reads the guidance literally, the message seems to be you can only reuse an English test only if used for ILR rather than for a visa application. Other members may advise on this point.

[goforukilr]

Thanks contorted_svy for your time!

1) Based on various Google searches, Tax Office Reference Number does appear to be a the PAYE reference number for the employer but I can't find an official source (gov.uk) to confirm it. Does anyone have this or have a different view?

2) On English language requirements, I now have taken a fresh B1 test from Trinity College London as I don't have the Ecctis confirmation on my degree. I have answered the questions as follows. Is this OK?
Did you meet the knowledge of English requirement as part of an indefinite leave application made on or after 28 October 2013? YES

Do you have a degree that was taught in English? NO

Have you passed an approved English language test? YES

How did you get your result? Online reference number
(As I have both a certificate and an online reference number)

3) On the situation with missing entry stamp for my wife, can other members please also share their view? Please refer to point 2/2b in my previous post.

[AmazonianX]

Thanks contorted_svy for your time!

1) Based on various Google searches, Tax Office Reference Number does appear to be a the PAYE reference number for the employer but I can't find an official source (gov.uk) to confirm it. Does anyone have this or have a different view? Why not confirm with your employer?

2) On English language requirements, I now have taken a fresh B1 test from Trinity College London as I don't have the Ecctis confirmation on my degree. I have answered the questions as follows. Is this OK?
Did you meet the knowledge of English requirement as part of an indefinite leave application made on or after 28 October 2013? YES

Do you have a degree that was taught in English? NO

Have you passed an approved English language test? YES

How did you get your result? Online reference number
(As I have both a certificate and an online reference number) Select online reference number so enter the UER
And upload the certificate too.

3) On the situation with missing entry stamp for my wife, can other members please also share their view? Please refer to point 2/2b in my previous post.

[alterhase58]

1) Based on various Google searches, Tax Office Reference Number does appear to be a the PAYE reference number for the employer but I can't find an official source (gov.uk) to confirm it. Does anyone have this or have a different view?

Check your P60 - it's the "Employer PAYE Reference" - you don't need an official source for this ..... I used that number myself nearly 8 years ago. Not an issue really because they can find your tax record with your NI number.

[contorted_svy]

Thanks contorted_svy for your time!

1) Based on various Google searches, Tax Office Reference Number does appear to be a the PAYE reference number for the employer but I can't find an official source (gov.uk) to confirm it. Does anyone have this or have a different view?

2) On English language requirements, I now have taken a fresh B1 test from Trinity College London as I don't have the Ecctis confirmation on my degree. I have answered the questions as follows. Is this OK?
Did you meet the knowledge of English requirement as part of an indefinite leave application made on or after 28 October 2013? YES Correct answer is NO.

Do you have a degree that was taught in English? NO

Have you passed an approved English language test? YES

How did you get your result? Online reference number
(As I have both a certificate and an online reference number)

3) On the situation with missing entry stamp for my wife, can other members please also share their view? Please refer to point 2/2b in my previous post.

[goforukilr]

british-citizenship/did-you-meet-the-kn ... l#p1864070

In the above case (exactly same as my situation), the advice was to answer the question as Yes.

Given the contradiction, I'm confused.

Can someone please clarify the response to this question - Did you meet the knowledge of English requirement as part of an indefinite leave application made on or after 28 October 2013?

I didn't need to prove proof of English language as I was exempt because I proved it in a prior Tier 2 application. But I *did* meet the requirement as part of the ILR application. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have been successful in the ILR application.

[vinny]

However, it’s unclear for naturalisation.

[goforukilr]

Thanks all for your help and patience.

My only outstanding question then is around the missing UK entry stamp on wife's passport.
On her latest entry back into the UK in Feb 24, her passport wasn't stamped by UK Border Control. There is a departure stamp from India for the same date.

Should I just submit the application as is with no mention of this missing stamp and no additional documents to prove residence?

Or should I explain this in a cover letter and provide additional documents for proof of residence, such as HMRC letter, DVLA licence issued after Feb-24, flight return tickets?

P.S - I have raised a SAR but unlikely that the info will be returned before I'm planning to submit the application.

[contorted_svy]

As I stated above, there is a stamp when she left India. I suggest you explain that in a cover letter, no further documents needed.

[goforukilr]

Hello,

I added my wife's application to my form, using the option Partner over 18. She's self employed and so I ticked this option in the Employment Section. Based on the posts in this forum, Self Assessment Tax Return and SA302 are mandatory, if one is self employed. However, the list of documents doesn't ask for this for my wife.

I then created a standalone/dummy application to validate and ticked the self-employed option in this form and now the document list did ask for self assessment tax return and SA302.

This means that applying for both of us in the same application is clearly different from when I setup a separate application for my wife. In the former case, it doesn't ask for documents which are mandatory.

Should I submit my wife's application as a separate application?

How many years' self assessment returns and SA302 documents are required to be submitted?

[goforukilr]

Hello - Can anyone please help with my query above?

[contorted_svy]

The online form is notoriously clunky. Provide the most recent SA302 and tax return (ie 2023-2024) if your wife's passport gets stamped when entering the UK. No need to submit a separate online form for her.

[CosmosS]

However, it’s unclear for naturalisation.

Hi Vinny,

You seem to be be knowledgeable in this issue of language requirements for naturalisation for those who were granted ILR via the skilled worker route. The skilled worker ILR application does not even ask you to confirm you meet English requirements, and that is because this would have been satisfied during the first entry clearance.

When I did my naturalisation about a year ago, I had to do the illogical thing and do an English language test despite having done one at my entry clearance 6 years ago.

Digging again this year for a family member, I found the updated A/N guide booklet for naturalisation. This was updated in July 2024 and I feel that with this paragraph in page 19 (not sure if it's a recent addition), the confusion has been largely cleared.

"If you successfully made an application for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) on the basis of a B1 level qualification you would meet the English language requirement for naturalisation and do not have to pass another test. This includes where you satisfied the requirement for ILR because you had already met the B1 level qualification for entry clearance or leave to remain."

The second part of this paragraph to me sounds like it eludes to those who qualified for ILR under the skilled worker route (meaning they met the language requirement through their entry clearance english test). Those are people like me who weren't even asked about English language requirements in their ILR application given that they must have already satisfied it at their initial entry clearance.

I am going to go ahead with applying for a family member in an identical situation without a re-test, on the basis of the above. It's a shame I paid for the exam a year ago when I could have used my old test.

Any thoughts are welcome.

[CosmosS]

However, it’s unclear for naturalisation.

I have also read your posts about this.
The English requirements for ILR applicants under skilled worker still apply.
I don't think they "excluded" english language requirements for the main applicant for ILR under skilled worker visa. The requirements are rather considered met because they have been met during entry clearance.
They exclude you from having to present evidence during the ILR application which is a more accurate description.

[AmazonianX]

However, it’s unclear for naturalisation.

Hi Vinny,

You seem to be be knowledgeable in this issue of language requirements for naturalisation for those who were granted ILR via the skilled worker route. The skilled worker ILR application does not even ask you to confirm you meet English requirements, and that is because this would have been satisfied during the first entry clearance.

When I did my naturalisation about a year ago, I had to do the illogical thing and do an English language test despite having done one at my entry clearance 6 years ago.

Digging again this year for a family member, I found the updated A/N guide booklet for naturalisation. This was updated in July 2024 and I feel that with this paragraph in page 19 (not sure if it's a recent addition), the confusion has been largely cleared.

"If you successfully made an application for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) on the basis of a B1 level qualification you would meet the English language requirement for naturalisation and do not have to pass another test. This includes where you satisfied the requirement for ILR because you had already met the B1 level qualification for entry clearance or leave to remain."

The second part of this paragraph to me sounds like it eludes to those who qualified for ILR under the skilled worker route (meaning they met the language requirement through their entry clearance english test). Those are people like me who weren't even asked about English language requirements in their ILR application given that they must have already satisfied it at their initial entry clearance.

I am going to go ahead with applying for a family member in an identical situation without a re-test, on the basis of the above. It's a shame I paid for the exam a year ago when I could have used my old test.

Any thoughts are welcome.

The level B1 is the requirement for ILR and naturalisation and if applicant has used this at any point in their immigration journey and the test/provider still on approved list at time of naturalisation this can be used.
This is said severally on guidance for various routes.
Applicants are only suggested to do B1 on this forum if situationis not so clear or when ECCTIS is required as they cost about same amount but the B1 will most if not at all times be accomplished faster than ECCTIS.

[CosmosS]

This is not the issue from my understanding.

The issue is that ILR applicants under skilled worker like me are not being required to present evidence of meeting English language requirements anymore.

For example, look at this very thread. You recommended that the applicant should do their language test again.

This is what Vinny refers to when saying unclear.
Having not presented/attached the evidence in ILR, can you actually use it for naturalisation. This is what I refer to in my posts.
Personally speaking, I am going to.

[contorted_svy]

I would advise it is best to provide evidence on knowledge of English through a recent B1 SELT test if you didn't prove it at ILR.

[CosmosS]

Essentially, you are advising the majority of applicants who were granted ILR through a skilled visa route to do an exam. That is at least thousands of people every month. Because the ILR application through skilled worker no longer has a prompt for you to present evidence of language skills. You can try this yourself and do the application. It does not even mention English requirements in the questions nor includes it in the required documents. Because it correctly assumes you met requirements in entry clearance.

I am only presenting my view on this. I have learned of friends who have also not done a new English language test for citizenship but presented their expired one despite it not being attached in ILR.
Their interpretation is also along the lines of the entry clearance test was automatically.considered in skilled worker ILR. Otherwise, an ILR wouldn't have been granted had one not satisfied the language requirement.

The A/N guide also has this paragraph.
"If you successfully made an application for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) on the basis of a B1 level qualification you would meet the English language requirement for naturalisation and do not have to pass another test. This includes where you satisfied the requirement for ILR because you had already met the B1 level qualification for entry clearance or leave to remain."

The second sentence is very reassuring to me in this context and I believe it eludes to ILR holders who came through a skilled worker route.