The Home Office will ask for a higher level of English from people applying to settle in the UK. Settlement applications made on or after 26 March 2027 must show speaking and listening at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), up from B1 today. Applications made before that date are judged at B1.
Key facts
- What English for settlement rises from B1 to B2 (speaking and listening)
- From Applications made on or after 26 March 2027
- Rule Statement of Changes HC 1691, laid on 5 March 2026
- Who Most work, family and long-residence routes to settlement
Which routes are covered
The higher level applies to settlement on the Skilled Worker, Scale-up, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, International Sportsperson, Minister of Religion, Representative of an Overseas Business and UK Ancestry routes, and to Long Residence, Private Life, Settlement Family Life, Bereaved Partner, Child Relative and Appendix KOLL applications.
Where someone cannot reach B2, the rules allow evidence from a qualified English teacher of their efforts to learn the language. The Life in the UK test, the knowledge half of the requirement, is unchanged by HC 1691.
What this means
B2 is a step up from B1: on the IELTS scale it is usually placed at a band of about 5.5 to 6.5 rather than 4.0 to 5.0, though the Home Office sets its own required score for each approved test. Anyone planning to apply for settlement from late March 2027 should check the B2 score for their chosen Secure English Language Test before booking, and allow time for a retake.
The change does not, on its own, alter the English requirement for British citizenship. The government has consulted on wider changes to settlement, but no change to citizenship has been laid.