B1 Speaking and Listening Exam Requirement

From 28th October 2013, except for certain exemptions if you are from a particular country,  all applicants for settlement or naturalisation as a British citizen will have to meet the knowledge of language and life requirement by passing the Life in the UK test and having a Speaking and Listening qualification in English at B1 level CEFR or higher, or its equivalent.

You can see the new requirement from the UK Border Agency and Home Office in the the 8th April 2013 Knowledge of language and life in the UK for settlement and naturalisation statement of intent

Trinity College London’s Graded Examination in Spoken English (GESE) Grade 5 in Speaking and Listening skills is suitable for Settlement (or ILR) and Naturalisation applications made on or after 28th October 2013.

Trinity’s GESE grade 5 is set at B1 level on the CEFR and at ESOL Entry level 3 on the NQF and has also been regulated by  Ofqual – .Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation

This follows the June 2012 announcement from the government (see below) with changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR or Settlement) and Naturalisation as a British Citizen routes, that anticipated the new requirements that came into force from October 2013.

This means that now all applications made after the 28th of October 2013 for ILR/Settlement must now pass the Life in the UK Test and have an English language speaking and listening qualification at B1 level or above of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) unless they are exempt by country of birth.

The official government announcement came in June 2012. It stated “From October 2013, all applicants for settlement will be required to demonstrate a knowledge of language and life in the UK by passing the Life in the UK test and by presenting a speaking and listening qualification at intermediate level (Common European Framework of Reference level B1) or above.

This language requirement, together with a knowledge of the values that underlie British society, will help ensure that those who settle here are able to participate in British life and are better able to gain employment.

The speaking and listening qualification must be secure, robust and generally available in the UK. We will consider these criteria over the coming months and will publish details of acceptable speaking and listening qualifications early next year.“

Trinity College’s Examination in Spoken English (GESE) Grade 5 in Speaking and Listening skills is a UK Border Agency and Home Office accepted test. you can prepare for this B1 Speaking and Listening Exam which consists of a ten minute interview with an official Trinity Examiner at our B1 test preparation centre.