Does my husband need a B1 English qualification? (confused)

[joolzred]

Hello! This is my first post here and I hope I make sense

An introduction: I am 44 and a UK born citizen. My husband came to UK in 2007 but was denied refugee status as his asylum applications failed. However due to his country of origin - Bhutan - there was no mechanism to deport him. We also met in 2007, and in 2009 started an application for ILR outside of the immigration rules on the basis of:

i) the fact that Bhutan does not accept any ethnic Nepalese returners and would not respond to many written requests for a travel documents to be issued to him, effectively making him marooned in the UK

ii) he had formed a family and private life in the UK, with many written letters of support and offers of employment.

We were very lucky in that back in 2009 we were able to consult an excellent immigration lawyer in Exeter, Devon (2 hours away for us) under the Legal Aid rules. We were assisted to make the application by a skilled lawyer. The Home Secretary took a year to decide but in Summer 2010 decided to grant him ILR outside of the rules due to the factors above.

He obtained a Certificate of Travel (black) but we have not travelled for excessive amounts of time outside of the UK since (under 120 days in 5 years)

We married in the UK in summer 2012.

Now we are both 5 years from his award of ILR outside of the rules and 3 year from his marriage to me.

He has booked his LITUK test, and is confident of passing soon.

What is the situation concerning his grasp of speaking and listening English? He has proved himself pretty good so far, his written English is less good but he communicates well enough to hold down a restaurant job and fully interact with his family and wider UK community.

I have checked the HO website and other sources and am a bit confused - does he have to show a B1 level qualification, or not?

If he does need to, we live in a rural area in the south west so accessing regular courses between long work hours is a bit of an issue. Are there any courses that can be undertaken online then with a final exam in person? Do we need to go back to find a decent lawyer again?

Any advice is very gratefully received!

[geriatrix]

Q2 and Q4.

[joolzred]

Thank you - the only part of this list that might apply is

"1. met this requirement, on or after 28th October 2013, in order to obtain settlement,"

But this implies having obtained a B1 level qual.?

[geriatrix]

Yes. What else would "this requirement" mean, in context?

He is not exempt!

[joolzred]

Thank you

I was confused by the HO guidance about Discretionary ILR status. I guess ILR awarded by the Home Sec at her discretion outside of the rules is not the same as Discretionary ILR?

[geriatrix]

Being granted settlement "outside the immigration rules" doesn't mean that the same discretion may / can be applied to grant citizenship "outside the nationality rules".

[noajthan]

Thank you - the only part of this list that might apply is

"1. met this requirement, on or after 28th October 2013, in order to obtain settlement,"

But this implies having obtained a B1 level qual.?

Yes.

Note rules are changing from November 2015:
https://www.gov.uk/english-language/app ... ifications

Nearest test centre to you appears to be Cardiff of Portsmouth.

[joolzred]

Thank you - the only part of this list that might apply is

"1. met this requirement, on or after 28th October 2013, in order to obtain settlement,"

But this implies having obtained a B1 level qual.?

Yes.

Note rules are changing from November 2015:
https://www.gov.uk/english-language/app ... ifications

Nearest test centre to you appears to be Cardiff of Portsmouth.

Thank you.

I am getting a bit boggled by it all. I think we need to consult the previous law firm as it's getting more complex by the hour.

I think there may also be a question over the 'good character' requirement due to fact that he entered the UK in 2007 without any legal documents although he claimed asylum immediately. He was rejected but was always in touch with the HO - they couldn't do anything with him as a failed applicant as he was from Bhutan (who do not even have an embassy in the UK, do not issue travel docs and refuse to accept returnees if they are ethnic Nepali). He was in limbo living with his UK family (me & my folks) unable to work etc until ILR given in 2010. Will this also be a factor?

We don't want to spend £1K on a failed AN application if all these new rules apply. Getting more and more disheartened.

[Casa]

I believe you will find that he won't qualify for BC yet due to the period without legal status.
"9.5 Illegal Entry
In circumstances where an applicant entered the UK illegally, an application for citizenship should normally be refused for a period of 10 years from the date of entry, if it is known. If it is not known, the period of 10 years starts from the date on which the person first brought themselves to or came to the attention of the Home Office."

[noajthan]

Thank you.

I am getting a bit boggled by it all. I think we need to consult the previous law firm as it's getting more complex by the hour.

I think there may also be a question over the 'good character' requirement due to fact that he entered the UK in 2007 without any legal documents although he claimed asylum immediately. He was rejected but was always in touch with the HO - they couldn't do anything with him as a failed applicant as he was from Bhutan (who do not even have an embassy in the UK, do not issue travel docs and refuse to accept returnees if they are ethnic Nepali). He was in limbo living with his UK family (me & my folks) unable to work etc until ILR given in 2010. Will this also be a factor?

We don't want to spend £1K on a failed AN application if all these new rules apply. Getting more and more disheartened.

Being in limbo with no employment is not a factor as employment is not a requirement for naturalisation.

LITUK & English B1 can be attempted & done individually over time;
both can be studied in own time and/or locally at a FE college or evening class (plus self-study, especially for LITUK).
You would only apply for naturalisation once they were both in the bag.

Agree, advice on 'good character' may be prudent in terms of how HO interprets & applies their own guidelines (not in terms of your husband's character).

Many people face (& overcome) such challenges over immigration and HO rules.
One step at a time, surely that is the mountaineer's way too
- best of luck.

[joolzred]

Being in limbo with no employment is not a factor as employment is not a requirement for naturalisation.

LITUK & English B1 can be attempted & done individually over time;
both can be studied in own time and/or locally at a FE college or evening class (plus self-study, especially for LITUK).
You would only apply for naturalisation once they were both in the bag.

Agree, advice on 'good character' may be prudent in terms of how HO interprets & applies their own guidelines (not in terms of your husband's character).

Many people face (& overcome) such challenges over immigration and HO rules.
One step at a time, surely that is the mountaineer's way too
- best of luck.

Thank you for your encouraging words. It's just we thought we might be approaching the summit of the mountain as we were advised (correctly as the rules stood at that time) that he could apply for BCship in summer 2015. It was a pretty tortuous process and uphill from 2007-10 to get his ILR so now just steeling myself for more of the same. Ironic thing is, he is ethnic Nepali with family in the Himalayas!

As I have read from the advice and info above it could be Jan 2017 if 10 years' "good character" applies. We have booked LITUK for next week, I must check the validity to see if a LITUK pass is time-limited. And then begins a search for a fairly local B1 level study provider to supplement his home study. I am sure he will not pass before Nov 2015 so that means a trip of 100 miles either way to Portsmouth or Cardiff.

Gotta love the HO!

[joolzred]

Can't see an 'edit' button - but just to add that it'd be highly likely that my husband could pass Trinity’s GESE Grade 5 exam Speaking and Listening (B1 level test) with extra home study and home coaching so that is a positive. His English language skills are already good so that is again more positive than I first thought.

[noajthan]

Thank you for your encouraging words. It's just we thought we might be approaching the summit of the mountain as we were advised (correctly as the rules stood at that time) that he could apply for BCship in summer 2015. It was a pretty tortuous process and uphill from 2007-10 to get his ILR so now just steeling myself for more of the same. Ironic thing is, he is ethnic Nepali with family in the Himalayas!

As I have read from the advice and info above it could be Jan 2017 if 10 years' "good character" applies. We have booked LITUK for next week, I must check the validity to see if a LITUK pass is time-limited. And then begins a search for a fairly local B1 level study provider to supplement his home study. I am sure he will not pass before Nov 2015 so that means a trip of 100 miles either way to Portsmouth or Cardiff.

Gotta love the HO!

Understood.
It was a 6 year sometimes arduous journey in my family's case.

The LITUK test has no expiry.

There is a large Nepali community in the area where I live (& in a previous life I was an ESOL teacher).

In terms of ESOL, many new arrivals (particularly from Nepal) are at Entry 1 level (or below) unless they had reason to learn English through earlier education or military (or ??).
However Entry Level 3, the requirement for citizenship, is by no means what a native speaker would think of as fluent.

If a person is integrated and conversing in English every day the fluency can grow rapidly.
Working in the community, and listening to talk radio (eg radio 4), works wonders.
The ESOL course is then fine tuning, with practice and guidance towards the test.

[Casa]

One tip for the LIUK test (which worked well for my husband), candidates can choose to listen to the test questions through headphones which helps if the spoken word is easier to understand than the written.

[geriatrix]

As I have read from the advice and info above it could be Jan 2017 if 10 years' "good character" applies. We have booked LITUK for next week, I must check the validity to see if a LITUK pass is time-limited. And then begins a search for a fairly local B1 level study provider to supplement his home study. I am sure he will not pass before Nov 2015 so that means a trip of 100 miles either way to Portsmouth or Cardiff.

1. LITUK test result has no expiry. Just keep the certificate in safe custody (keep a photocopy or note down the test number too).
2. Whenever he is ready to do the B1 test, just make sure that the test is taken at an approved center,

[joolzred]

Thank you all especially for the LITUK audio tip. His spoken English is pretty darned good. I know he used this method when passing his driving theory test.

The home study for IELT's GESE 5 starts as soon as he passes the LITUK.