The first English test on the family route
Applying for a partner or parent visa from outside the UK, or switching into the family route inside it, needs English at CEFR A1 in speaking and listening unless you are exempt. The same A1 level applies to the Representative of an Overseas Business and International Sportsperson routes. A1 is the lowest level on the CEFR scale: introduce yourself, answer simple questions about your life, understand slow, clear speech on everyday matters.
The requirement is set by Appendix English Language of the Immigration Rules and explained on GOV.UK's family visa pages. It has not been changed by the 2027 settlement rules. What has changed is what comes later: the same person will need A2 at extension and, from 26 March 2027, B2 at settlement. Anyone starting the route in 2026 should read the A1 test as the first of three.
Who does not need the A1 test
- nationals of the majority English-speaking countries GOV.UK lists (Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British overseas territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the USA). Not Nigeria, Ghana, India, Pakistan or the Philippines, whatever the official language.
- holders of a UK degree, or of a degree taught in English elsewhere with an Ecctis confirmation that it is UK bachelor's standard
- people aged 65 or over
- people with a long-term physical or mental condition that prevents them meeting the requirement, confirmed by a doctor on the Home Office form
- children, and adults coming to be cared for by a relative
The four approved A1 tests
Only a Secure English Language Test on the current GOV.UK list, sat at an approved centre, counts. Inside the UK the providers are Trinity College London, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert and Pearson. Outside the UK the same except that PSI Services (Skills for English UKVI) replaces Trinity, which does not test abroad for SELT.
| Test | Length | Format | Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity GESE Grade 2 | 6 min | one examiner, one candidate, a conversation on a Trinity tablet at the centre | UK only |
| IELTS Life Skills A1 | 16 to 18 min | one examiner with two candidates | UK and abroad |
| LanguageCert International ESOL SELT A1 | 8 to 9 min | computer-based with a live examiner, five short parts | UK and abroad |
| PTE Home A1 | 22 min | computer, speaking recorded and machine-scored | UK and abroad |
| PSI Skills for English UKVI A1 | up to 30 min | computer, speaking recorded and marked by assessors afterwards | abroad only |
Prices in October 2026: Trinity £160 (every GESE SELT grade), PTE Home £170 in the UK, LanguageCert from about £160, IELTS Life Skills set by the centre and from about £182 at British Council London centres. Abroad, each provider prices in local currency.
Most spouses apply from their home country, so the realistic choice abroad is IELTS Life Skills, LanguageCert, PTE Home or PSI. If you are already in the UK and switching, Trinity's six-minute Grade 2 is the shortest test on the list.
What the A1 examiner asks
At A1 the whole exam is personal: your name, where you live, your family, your job or studies, your daily routine, what you like. Trinity's Grade 2 language list expects the present simple, "there is" and "there are", "can", "have got", simple adjectives, numbers and times, and the ability to ask a simple question back. IELTS Life Skills A1 adds a short listening task on a recording.
A pass at A1 looks like this: "I live in Lahore with my parents. I have two brothers. I work in a shop. In the evening I cook and I watch TV." Mistakes are expected. What fails is not understanding a slow, repeated question, or answering with single words throughout.
Taking a higher test instead
You may sit a higher level than A1. GOV.UK says so directly. A pass at A2 or above is reused for the extension, and a B1 or higher pass was, until now, reused for settlement as well. From 26 March 2027 a B1 pass no longer covers settlement on the family route, because the level there becomes B2. So the old tactic of "take B1 once at the start and never test again" now saves only the A2 test. If B1 is within reach, it is still worth it for the extension; otherwise pass A1 cleanly and move on.
Validity, reference numbers and reuse
The test must have been awarded in the two years before the application. After you pass you get a reference number (UER for Trinity, UKVI number for IELTS, Candidate URN for LanguageCert, SELT URN for Pearson, URN for PSI), and the application form asks for it. The Home Office checks the result on the provider's system. Keep the number safe; you will need the A1 result only once, but you will want the pattern for the next two tests.
What comes next
The extension after two and a half years needs A2 speaking and listening. Settlement needs B1 before 26 March 2027 and B2 after it, unless you are exempt. The gap between a fresh A1 and a safe B2 is several years of real use of English, which is roughly the time the route gives you. Start speaking English at home now, not in year four.
