English for UK settlement and citizenship: B1 today, B2 for settlement from 26 March 2027
If you are 18 or over and apply to settle in the UK (indefinite leave to remain) or to become a British citizen, you normally have to prove your English with a qualification at B1, B2, C1 or C2, or a degree taught or researched in English. GOV.UK warns that an application is refused if you send the wrong qualification.
That bar is about to move for settlement. The Statement of Changes HC 1691 of 5 March 2026 raises the English requirement for settlement to B2 on a long list of routes where it is B1 today, and it comes into force on 26 March 2027. Everything below was read on 21 October 2026 on GOV.UK: the English-language pages for citizenship and settling, the SELT guidance (last updated 12 October 2026) and the explanatory memorandum to HC 1691.
What counts as proof today
A Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider, sat at an approved test centre. For settlement and citizenship the test assesses speaking and listening only, not reading or writing. GCSEs, A levels and NVQs do not count, and an ESOL qualification counts only if it is on the list of approved SELTs.
The approved providers in the UK are Trinity College London, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LANGUAGECERT and Pearson; outside the UK, PSI Services, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LANGUAGECERT and Pearson. The tests include IELTS for UKVI and IELTS Life Skills, LANGUAGECERT's SELTs, PTE Academic UKVI and PTE Home, PSI's Skills for English UKVI, and Trinity's ISE and GESE for UKVI. A result from a test sat in the UK can be used for an application made abroad, and the other way round.
The alternative is a degree taught or researched in English. You also need a certificate, or results you can view online.
Pearson's PTE Home, the family-route SELT, comes in A1, A2 and B1 only.
Two years, and when an old result still works
SELT results are valid for two years from the date the test is awarded, and must have been awarded within the two years before you apply.
GOV.UK makes two exceptions for an expired B1 or higher. For citizenship, an expired qualification still works if it was accepted when you settled, even if that test is no longer on the current list. For settlement, it must be on the current list and have been accepted for another UK immigration application, such as when you got permission to enter. Our reading: keep the certificate you used at settlement; it may be your proof again at citizenship.
B2 for settlement from 26 March 2027
The explanatory memorandum to HC 1691 (paragraph 5.60) says the change increases the English requirement for settlement to B2 for routes where it is B1 now. It names Appendix KoLL, Skilled Worker, Tier 2 Minister of Religion, Representative of an Overseas Business, UK Ancestry, Global Talent, Scale Up, Innovator Founder, International Sportsperson, Child Relative (Sponsors with Protection), Long Residence, Bereaved Partner, Private Life and Settlement Family Life.
It applies to people already on a route to settlement, not only to new arrivals (paragraph 5.62). For Skilled Worker and Scale Up, the language requirement is added at the settlement stage, on top of what was asked for the visa. The government deferred the start to 26 March 2027 to give people time to meet it. Our reading: if you expect to apply for settlement after that date, a B1 result taken now will not be enough; plan for B2 speaking and listening.
One practical consequence: in the Home Office's lists of approved SELTs (read 29 October 2026), every test at B2 or above is a four-skill test; the speaking-and-listening-only tests stop at B1. On 31 October Trinity's SELT page said its B2 speaking and listening test, GESE Grade 7, will be available later this year (how GESE is graded). For LanguageCert's tests, see LanguageCert SELT scores, and for PSI's, Skills for English: SELT.
The memorandum says nothing about the English requirement for citizenship, which GOV.UK still sets at B1 or above. The legal wording for citizenship is in our citizenship requirements table.
Who does not have to prove English
People aged 65 or over, and people who cannot because of a long-term physical or mental condition, with a completed exemption form from a doctor.
Nationals of the listed countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British overseas territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Ireland (for citizenship only), Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA. English being an official language of your country is not enough if it is not on the list.
Some settlement routes are exempt because English was proved for the visa, among them Skilled Worker (until the 2027 change adds a settlement-stage test), and so are refugees, people with humanitarian protection, and some partners, among others. If you were exempt at settlement, you must send an exemption form again for citizenship.
English is half of it. Most applicants also need the Life in the UK test, 24 questions in 45 minutes.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Booking a general IELTS or a GCSE as proof for settlement.
Booking an approved SELT at an approved centre.
GOV.UK accepts only approved SELTs (or a degree taught in English), and refuses applications with the wrong qualification.
Taking a B1 test now for a settlement application in mid-2027.
Preparing B2 speaking and listening if you will apply on or after 26 March 2027.
HC 1691 raises settlement to B2 from that date, including for people already on a route.
Throwing away the certificate once you have settled.
Keeping it for your citizenship application.
For citizenship, an expired B1+ qualification still counts if it was accepted when you settled.
Questions
What level of English do you need for UK settlement?
B1 or above in speaking and listening today, by an approved SELT or a degree taught in English. From 26 March 2027, HC 1691 raises it to B2 on the routes where it is B1 now.
Does the B2 change apply to British citizenship?
The HC 1691 explanatory memorandum covers settlement only. GOV.UK still asks for B1 or above for citizenship.
How long is a SELT result valid?
Two years from the date it is awarded, though GOV.UK lets an expired B1+ qualification count in some citizenship and settlement cases.
Who is exempt from the English requirement?
People aged 65 or over, people with a long-term condition that prevents it, nationals of the listed majority English-speaking countries, and some settlement routes and protection cases.
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