The rule in one paragraph
To naturalise as a British citizen you prove English at B1 or above in speaking and listening, or you are exempt. The Statement of Changes HC 1691 that raises settlement to B2 from 26 March 2027 does not touch the nationality rules: citizenship stays at B1. Reading and writing are not tested. The same application also needs the Life in the UK test, a separate 45-minute computer test about British history and institutions.
You may not need a test at all
Check these before you spend £160.
- You already proved English when you settled. GOV.UK is explicit: a B1, B2, C1 or C2 qualification that was accepted for your settlement can be reused for citizenship even if it has "run out", and even if that test is no longer on the approved list. No new test.
- You have a degree taught in English. A UK bachelor's, master's or PhD counts on its own. A degree from elsewhere needs a confirmation from the Home Office's qualification and language assessments provider (the Ecctis service) that it meets UK degree standard and was taught in English.
- You are a national of a majority English-speaking country on the Home Office list (for example Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, the USA, Malta).
- You are 65 or over, or a physical or mental condition makes the requirement unreasonable in your case.
If none of these apply, you sit a test.
Who sits the test for citizenship
Mostly people who settled without an English test: refugees and people granted humanitarian protection, EU citizens with settled status, people who settled before the requirement existed, and long-residence cases where the English evidence was a teacher's letter rather than a pass. Partners who settled with a B1 pass normally reuse it and do not come back for a second test.
Which test
Any speaking and listening SELT at B1 or above from an approved provider, taken at an approved centre:
- Trinity GESE Grade 5 (£160, ten minutes, one examiner, two phases). The shortest and the most like a normal conversation. Explained on the B1 test page.
- IELTS Life Skills B1 (about 22 minutes, taken with another candidate).
- LanguageCert International ESOL SELT B1 speaking and listening (computer-based, with a human interlocutor).
- PTE Home B1 (computer, machine-scored).
Four-skills tests at B1 or above also count (IELTS for UKVI, Trinity ISE I, LanguageCert four skills, PTE Academic UKVI), but they are longer and harder than you need. A B2 pass counts too, and if you take B2 now it will also serve a partner who needs settlement after 26 March 2027. The comparison of providers is on the SELT page.
How recent the test must be
For a new application, two years from the test date. Trinity certificates themselves do not expire; the two-year rule is the Home Office's. Details and the reuse rules are on how long a B1 test is valid.
What you put in the application
The SELT unique reference number from your certificate or results email; the Home Office checks it on the provider's online verification system. You do not post the certificate. Keep the results email: the reference number is on it.
Preparing for GESE Grade 5 in a month
Grade 5 fails are rare and almost always the same three things: reciting a memorised topic, answering in single words, or not using the past tense. Prepare the topic as a conversation, not a speech, and practise the six Conversation subjects aloud. The practice page has a plan, and the free AI examiner runs the Grade 5 questions on any subject in four minutes and grades it.