UK Skilled Worker visa English is B2 since 8 January 2026: the SELT scores, and who still only needs B1
A new Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa now needs English at B2, in reading, writing, speaking and listening. If you prove it with a test, that means IELTS for UKVI 5.5 in every skill, PTE Academic UKVI 59 in every skill, or LanguageCert Academic or General SELT 60 in every skill. If you already had the visa before 8 January 2026, you stay at B1 when you extend.
Sources, read on GOV.UK on 9 November 2026: the Knowledge of English pages of the Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker visa guides, the guidance Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT), and the Home Office's two lists of approved SELTs (taken in and outside the UK).
Who needs B2, and who stays at B1
B2: a first Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker application, and anyone switching into either visa from a different visa.
B1, and no new proof: anyone who had the visa before 8 January 2026 and is extending or updating it. Switching from a Health and Care Worker visa to Skilled Worker also needs no new proof.
If you proved your English in an earlier successful visa application, you may not have to prove it again.
Proving it without a test
A GCSE, A Level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, or Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English, from a UK school you started before you were 18.
A degree taught in English and awarded by a UK institution, even if you studied outside the UK.
A degree taught in English from an institution outside the UK, confirmed by an Ecctis assessment as equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree or higher.
Nationals of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British overseas territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA do not need to prove it. Doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives who passed an English assessment accepted by their regulator do not either.
The B2 scores on the approved list
Only a Secure English Language Test (SELT) counts, sat at an approved test centre and awarded in the two years before you apply. Each minimum applies to every skill:
- IELTS for UKVI5.5 in each skillB1 was 4.0
- PTE Academic UKVI59 in each skillB1 was 43
- LanguageCert Academic or General SELT60 in each skillB1 was 40
- Skills for English UKVI B2Pass in all fouroutside the UK (PSI)
- Trinity ISE IIPass in all fourin the UK
Book the right product
The ordinary versions do not count. GOV.UK names the approved ones: IELTS for UKVI (not standard IELTS), PTE Academic UKVI (not PTE Academic), LanguageCert Academic SELT or General SELT, Skills for English UKVI, and Trinity's Secure English Language Tests for UKVI (ISE).
The providers differ by country: in the UK, Trinity College London, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert and Pearson; outside the UK, PSI Services, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert and Pearson.
Where a test examines the four skills together, all four must come from the same sitting with the same provider. Some providers let you resit a single failed part; check their terms before you book.
What the jump from B1 to B2 means
Our reading: on IELTS for UKVI the minimum moves from 4.0 to 5.5 in every skill, and on PTE Academic UKVI from 43 to 59. Because each skill has its own floor, the weakest one decides, and for most candidates that is writing or speaking.
For how each test scores, see IELTS bands, PTE Academic scores, LanguageCert SELT and Skills for English. For settlement and citizenship, which only test speaking and listening, see English for UK settlement and citizenship.
Nurses, doctors and allied health professionals need a second test result. The visa needs B2; professional registration asks far more, and from a narrower list of tests. See English test scores for nurses, for doctors and HCPC English requirements.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Booking standard IELTS or PTE Academic.
Booking IELTS for UKVI or PTE Academic UKVI.
Only the tests on the Home Office's approved SELT list are accepted.
Assuming an existing Skilled Worker must now pass B2 to extend.
Checking when you first got the visa.
If you had it before 8 January 2026, extending or updating needs B1 and no new proof.
Using a SELT from three years ago.
Using one awarded in the two years before you apply.
GOV.UK requires the test to be awarded within two years of the application date.
Questions
What IELTS score do you need for a UK Skilled Worker visa?
For a new application since 8 January 2026: IELTS for UKVI with at least 5.5 in each of listening, reading, writing and speaking (B2).
What PTE score do you need for a UK Skilled Worker visa?
PTE Academic UKVI with at least 59 in each skill for B2. The ordinary PTE Academic is not accepted.
Do I need B2 to extend my Skilled Worker visa?
Not if you had the visa before 8 January 2026: you need B1 and do not have to prove it again. Switching from a different visa needs B2.
Does the Health and Care Worker visa need B2 English too?
Yes, for new applications, with the same B1 rule for people who had the visa before 8 January 2026.
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