For visa or citizenship applications, you may need to prove your knowledge of English by passing a secure English language test (SELT).
Applications that require an English language test
There are 2 types of tests as different immigration routes require different levels of English language ability. The test you will need to take depends on what you are applying for.
For the following application routes, you will need to take a test that assesses your reading, writing, speaking, and listening abilities:
- Health and Care Workers
- High Potential Individual
- Innovator
- Minister of Religion
- Scale-up Worker
- Skilled Worker
- Start-up
- Student
For the following application routes, you will need to take a test that assesses your speaking and listening abilities:
- citizenship
- International Sportsperson
- parent
- partner
- Representative of an Overseas Business
- settlement (also known as indefinite leave to remain)
The level of test you will need, known as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) level, will depend on the route you are applying for. To find out which level you need, see the specific guidance for your immigration route.
Approved test providers
If you are in the UK
You can only take a SELT with one of the following providers:
- Pearson
- Trinity College London
- IELTS SELT Consortium
- LanguageCert
If you are outside of the UK
You can only take a SELT with one of the following providers:
- Pearson
- PSI Services (UK) Ltd
- IELTS SELT Consortium
- LanguageCert
Find an approved test
For your results to be accepted, your test must:
- be on the list of approved English language tests
- have been sat at an approved test location
- have been awarded in the two years before the date of your application
The list of approved English language tests has been assessed as meeting Home Office requirements under the secure English language testing arrangements. Only those tests and test levels specified are approved. If you intend to use an English language test in your immigration or nationality application, you must take one of the tests on the list.
You should make sure the test that you book is the one approved for SELT:
- Pearson: ‘PTE Academic UKVI’ or ‘PTE Home’
- PSI Services: ‘Skills for English UKVI’
- Trinity College London: ‘Secure English Language Tests for UKVI’ – Integrated Skills in English (ISE) or Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE)
- IELTS SELT Consortium: ‘IELTS for UKVI’ or ‘IELTS Life Skills’
- LanguageCert: ‘LanguageCert International ESOL SELT’
It is for you to decide which test to take.
The list of approved tests gives the CEFR level and minimum grade requirements for each level.
Where 2 or more components (reading, writing, speaking and listening) of a test are examined and awarded together, for example a combined exam and certificate for reading and writing skills, you must show that you achieved the required scores in all the relevant components during a single sitting of that examination, unless you were exempt from sitting a component on the basis of a disability.
