The Government has announced that, from 2 April 2007, all adults applying for settlement in the UK (also known as "indefinite leave to remain" or "permanent residence") will need to pass a "Life in the UK" test or an English language course.

The requirement will be in addition to the usual requirements for settlement and will affect applicants aged 18 to 65. Forming part of the Government’s managed migration five-year strategy, the requirement aims to ensure residents have the requisite language skills and citizenship knowledge to integrate successfully into British society.

To meet the new requirement, applicants must either:

Pass a "Life in the UK" test, if they already possess a good standard of English (ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) Entry 3 standard or above); or

Pass an "ESOL with citizenship course", if their standard of English is below ESOL Entry 3 standard.

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The Government has announced that, from 2 April 2007, all adults applying for settlement in the UK (also known as "indefinite leave to remain" or "permanent residence") will need to pass a "Life in the UK" test or an English language course.

The requirement will be in addition to the usual requirements for settlement and will affect applicants aged 18 to 65. Forming part of the Government’s managed migration five-year strategy, the requirement aims to ensure residents have the requisite language skills and citizenship knowledge to integrate successfully into British society.

To meet the new requirement, applicants must either:

Pass a "Life in the UK" test, if they already possess a good standard of English (ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) Entry 3 standard or above); or

Pass an "ESOL with citizenship course", if their standard of English is below ESOL Entry 3 standard.

Life in the UK Test

Applicants seeking to naturalise as British citizens have had to pass the "Life in the UK" test since 1 November 2006. Under the new rules, all applicants seeking settlement in the UK, whose English is at or above ESOL Entry 3 standard, will also have to pass the same test.

The Home Office’s "Life in the UK" website (www.lifeintheuktest.gov.uk) and handbook, called "Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship", contain a full guide to the test. Applicants taking the test on or after 2 April 2007 must study the revised version of the handbook, to be published in early 2007. Successful applicants will be issued with a "pass notification letter" and will not need to provide additional proof of their knowledge of English.

ESOL with Citizenship course

Applicants seeking settlement in the UK whose English is below ESOL Entry 3 standard must successfully complete an "ESOL with citizenship course" - a language course designed to develop knowledge of English language and life in the UK.

ESOL with citizenship courses are available at Further, Adult and Community colleges across the UK. Applicants must show that they have progressed from one ESOL level to the next. Successful applicants will be issued with a letter from their college, which must confirm that they have successfully completed the course and that it included "language with citizenship" materials. Successful applicants will not need to take the "Life in the UK" test.

You may wish to notify employees and individuals due to qualify for settlement in the near future of this new requirement. Please contact the Immigration Team at CMS Cameron McKenna if you have any questions or require any further information.

This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq

Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.

The original publication date for this article was 06/12/2006.