UK Visa English Test (SELT)

Secure English Language Tests for UK visas: A1, A2 and B1 speaking and listening tests (Trinity GESE, IELTS Life Skills, PTE Home, LanguageCert, Skills for English), format, booking and practice.

Most UK family, settlement and citizenship applications need a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from a provider the Home Office approves. For partner and parent routes the levels are A1 for the first visa, A2 for the extension and B1 for indefinite leave to remain and citizenship; work routes have their own levels. Only tests on the Home Office list count, taken at an approved centre: the current list and the level for each route are on GOV.UK. The government has announced that some routes will move from B1 to B2 in 2027, so check your route's requirement on the day you book, not the day a friend took the test.

The tests that count, and what each one feels like

Trinity GESE (Grades 2, 3 and 5 for A1, A2 and B1) is a one-to-one conversation with an examiner lasting about seven to ten minutes: a topic you bring, then conversation on everyday subjects. IELTS Life Skills (A1, A2, B1) tests speaking and listening only, taken together with one other candidate for sixteen to twenty-two minutes, including a task where you plan something together. Pearson PTE Home (A1, A2, B1) is recorded on a computer at a centre. LanguageCert and PSI Skills for English offer speaking-and-listening SELTs with a live interlocutor, LanguageCert also online. All five are booked on demand; results come in days. Fees sit roughly between £150 and £200 and change each April, so take the figure from the provider's page.

What A1, A2 and B1 actually require

A1 is introducing yourself, your family and your day, and answering simple questions. A2 adds the past and the future: what you did last weekend, what you plan to do, a short description of your town. B1 is holding a real conversation: giving opinions with reasons, agreeing and disagreeing politely, describing a problem and how you solved it, and keeping going when the examiner asks "why?". None of them test grammar directly; all of them test whether you can keep speaking for the full time without long silences.

Who takes these tests

Partners joining a spouse in the UK from India, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and the Philippines, parents of British children, and long-term residents applying for settlement or citizenship. Many have never sat a speaking exam, and the fail reasons are not grammar but nerves, one-word answers, and not understanding the examiner's second question. The format is the easiest of any English exam to practise for, because it is a conversation.

How to prepare in two weeks

Pick your level's topics (yourself, family, home, work, daily routine, shopping, travel, health, plans) and answer one question per topic aloud every day for a minute. Learn ten "keep going" phrases: "Let me think", "For example", "The reason is", "On the other hand". Rehearse the paired task for IELTS Life Skills with another person, or with an AI partner that asks follow-ups. Our 100 daily conversation topics and 50 easy speaking topics for beginners cover the A1 and A2 ground, and the 60 topics to talk about with friends are B1 practice in disguise. The upcoming exam dates page shows when the UK rules change next.

Which English test do I need for a UK spouse visa?

A Home Office-approved SELT at level A1 for the first partner visa, A2 for the extension and B1 for settlement. Approved providers include Trinity College London (GESE), the IELTS SELT Consortium (IELTS Life Skills), Pearson (PTE Home), LanguageCert and PSI (Skills for English). Check GOV.UK for your route.

Is the UK A1 English test hard?

No. It is a short speaking-and-listening conversation about yourself, your family and your daily life. People fail through nerves and one-word answers, not through grammar. Two weeks of daily spoken practice is normally enough.

How long is IELTS Life Skills?

Sixteen to eighteen minutes at A1 and about twenty-two minutes at B1, taken with one other candidate and an examiner. There is no reading or writing.

Can I take a UK SELT online?

LanguageCert offers an online SELT; most others are taken at an approved centre. The Home Office only accepts a test booked as a SELT at an approved location, so an ordinary online test of the same name does not count.

Is the UK English requirement changing to B2?

The government has announced a move from B1 to B2 for some routes in 2027. Which routes and from which date is set out on GOV.UK; confirm the requirement for your own route before you book.