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Can you pass the test? List of English language test providers released by UKBA
When the home secretary Teresa May announced last month that the government would be introducing a new English language requirement for people wanting to join their spouses and civil partners of people settled in the UK, alarm bells started to ring.
May’s announcement means that, from 29th November this year, those people applying to join (or to remain in the UK) as the partner of a British citizen or a person settled here will need to pass an English language test with an approved test provider. The aim: to ‘support integration’. But although few people would argue that English language skills are invaluable in building a life in the UK, there seemed to be big problems with a system which requires English language skills, before setting foot in the country, from people seeking to join their partners. On the home office’s own estimates, under these new regs thousands of couples would be forced to live apart (it’s thought 10% current applications will not succeed).
No doubt this 10% would be the people living in countries where there is little chance to learn English – like Togo – who will find themselves disadvantaged by the new requirement. Similarly, those people from rural areas or those with less cash would probably also be harder pushed to meet the requirement.
But even if you do speak English, how will you prove it? The government will need you to demonstrate your English language skills by passing a test with an ‘approved test provider’ before applying to join your loved one here. Although a list of approved test providers was released by the UKBA yesterday, it unfortunately doesn’t make clear which countries are served by approved providers and which are not.
The 17 page list gives the details for only the head offices of the approved English language test providers, all of which are based in the UK (vast majority), Japan and USA. Just one provider states that it has offices in Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East, although the specific countries are not detailed here. Presumably all these providers also have offices in many other countries, but good luck to those people who will need to trawl through this list and contact every company on it to find out whether there is an English language test provider where they live.
It would be great if all the countries in the world are covered by these test providers – people reading the MRN blog have kindly offered to contact some of these providers to find out which countries they cover. But if some countries don’t have an approved test provider in operation, it seems that people wanting to apply to come to the UK as a spouse/partner would need to incur the cost and hassle of travelling elsewhere to take the test – unless an online version of the test is made available and accessible.
The new English language requirement is set to cause problems for many people, and this is clearly going to be largely dependent on the opportunities available to applicants in their country of origin. But it is even more unfair that, at the moment, many applicants will need to get an English language speaker to do some detective work on their behalf before even finding out whether there is a test provider near them. The government has a responsibility to make clear to people the options that are available to them – and to try to redress the balance for those who are likely to be severely disadvantaged by this new policy.
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The second generation of Muslim migrants is facing a huge challenge because they did not think even for a second before that someone would say, 'You are not welcome.'" They are well versed in English and they do not feel well integrated because British society is the home of institutional racism. They find themselves cut off from their cultural and linguaistic roots because British education does not encourage them to speak or learn their mother tongues at schools. It is easy to say" Go back to where you came from",but do not forget that British Muslims are actually born and educated here. They are in the unenviable position of trying to combine two diffent worlds. That is no easy.A report has found that bilingual children are far more likely to get top-grades pass in all subjects. Too many schools miss out on the opportunity to ensure bilingual pupils develop their skills in languages other then English. Children using first language other than English have a some important academic advantages as this bilingualism enables children to develop cognitively. It can also improve 'intercultural understanding'.
A report by the Institute for Community Cohesion found that native parents were deserting some schools after finding their children out numbered by pupils from ethnic minorities. Schools in parts of England are becoming increasingly segregated. The study focused on 13 local authorities. Many of the schools and colleges are segregated and this was generally worsening over recent years. This is RACISM because British society is the home of institutional racism.
Continue to moan about immigration. You want Turkey and India to do business with Britain and you dont want their citizens in Britain. What a contradiction!
A cap on immigration from third world countries will be imposed despite cabinet concern that the policy could harm the economy. The school secretary and university minister have raised concerns that the cap could deprive the economy of skilled labour. Baroness Valentine said that the word cap is a very negative word to put out to the global market place.
Iftikhar Ahmad
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
My daughter came home yesterday 24th August in tears after taking her GCSE Results, she proceeded straight away to enrol, only to find out that she had to pay her next course. She is a daughter of a Domestic Worker holding Indefinte Leave to Remain. She is eligible to apply for British Citizen already but with so many problems we are facing that put on hold which will cost us more or less £800.00 each per application. I remember when I applied for her ILR, she was 18th then meaning she is still my dependent but need the application to be separated from me because of her age, we were unprepared so we were a kind of panic separate application means separate pay and she has to pass the test which left her no enough time to memorize the "Life in the Uk Test" Books. That was a big pressure on her of course so everytime she came out in the examination Centre, she would cry and I would just tell her, "never mind we pay again and try again", Indeed this is a very clear good business and yet the trauma that they put on every people is just unbearable of feeling being displaced and unwanted used goods.
Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs) are struggling to cope with this requirement, with the long hours of work, many of them are working 15-24 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, how can they find time to memorize the book?or how can they attend the class if they have no day off? Many of MDWs are unable to read and write English not because they are illiterates but because they have their own language and own writing but most of them can speak and understand English as they stayed long in the UK, they themselves learned to adapt Life in the UK. To cope with this requirement of UKBA, J4DW has been providing English and Computer classes to MDWs through Unite the Union Via Colleges on Sundays. However, with another new restrictions, these Colleges have now a long list of Requirements, one of these is the National Insurance, failure to show this NI card will not be accepted, which again totally exclude Domestic Workers because many of Domestic workers don't have NI not because they are not paying the NI and Tax but employers are actually deducting this amount to pay the NI contirbutions and Tax but the truth is employers do not pay these deductions to the Revenue, the UKBA actually acknowledge this special vulnerability of Domestic workers of not having NI and Tax and yet excluding MDWs to access education because they have no NI card to show is just a complete non sense and another foul system that migrants have to suffer. The UKBA requires all migrants to progress in English while excluding them to access this education is just complete contradiction which left us in dead end. Because of this exclusion, J4DW has to find its way again to cope with this with the help and support of Unite the union, we have now started with alternative education via United Migrant Workers Education Project (UMWEP), tutors are volunteers and we included the Life in the UK Test in the ESOL curriculum and at the end of the course, MDWs should be able to pass the test though it means another burden to them to buy the books and pay the test for every failure until they pass. Many Domestic workers are earning only £50-£500/month, the visa fee alone is too high to afford which they ended up to loan. And yet, they refused to recognise that Domestic workers are looking after these rich families so they all can go to work.
As you have recently reported in an MRN news item, there is now a not very lengthy list of countries where the language test isn't required by UKBA because there is no test centre available. However, as I pointed out in Migration Pulse on 26 August, there may in fact be a lot of countries where a language test is either not available or available only at a higher level than the UKBA requires.
It will be interesting to see if the UKBA list of exceptions covers all of these countries, or of course whether they succeed in putting centres in place where currently they don't exist. So far there is evidence of test facilities being unavailable in several countries in Central America, for example, yet none of these countries so far appear on the list of exemptions. Watch this space!
Having submitted the previous comment, I realised that UKBA has also produced a video to describe the new arrangements and why they are being introduced. However, the video scores a major 'own goal'. The scene it presents is from a langauge class IN THE UK. The language teacher helpfully points out that her lesson not only teaches the language, but also helps people understand the culture and their community within the UK. Quite: a very good argument for taking classes in the UK and not, say, in Latin America where both the accent and cultural background of the teacher are very likely to be North American - and not at all helpful to understanding life in the UK.
The video is available at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/2010/nov/57-e...
I am absolutely disgusted with this. I am a hard working honest uk tax payer trying to bring my cape verdean husband over to be with me.. I cant get any information not even from my lawyer to say whether cape verde is an exempt country as there appears to be no test centre there.. I have written many emails to embassies even the uk ba but no one seems to no nothing
I feel in despair and all I want is my husband with me he can speak English but how can he take a test if he lives in cape verde where there is nothing these are remote islands in the middle of the atlantic ocean
In response to Ann's point, it's very likely that Cape Verde was on the list of exempt countries, if it does not have a test centre. However, UKBA have now amended their guidance and withdrawn the list! The guidance now simply says that there is exemption for 'Nationals or long term residents living in the countries where there is no test centre'. Therefore, the only way to test this seems to be for her husband to apply! - and claim the exemption.
Thankyou for your comment John nice to know someone at least can understand my confusion I just feel so frustrated about all of this paying lawyers and the impending visa fee for such shoddy services at least we should have the information at hand if they want us to do these things do they think that people applying for these visas are all already in the uk or in japan
I have trawled through ever one of these approved centres and emailed them all I got two responses one saying they cant help me and the other saying they dont know
Anyway keeping in hope and trying to keep my spirits up,,
Confused and Frustrated.
I have looked through the list of approved deliverers of the English courses/ tests on the Worldbridge Website and have telephoned a few that state they provide their services in Europe! Those that I have spoken to state that their information on the Worldbridge website is INCORRECT and that they DO NOT provide these courses and tests outside of the UK. Some don't even provide them in the UK???
I am trying to find details of organisations in TURKEY that can provide TEST's only.
One company I spoke to Pearson's said that their first available "course" in Turkey will be May 2011. I think their courses are in Ankara and Istanbul but what about any other areas. Turkey is a massive country and a lot of the applicants are already spending a huge amount of money applying for the Visa in the first place.
They are at a further disadvantage if they need to travel to a TEST Centre hundreds of miles from their home or employment area? Also if they will have to wait 6 months before they can be tested???
Is their any detailed guidance on other English course certificates that are classed as acceptable. A lot of language schools in Turkey do private courses in English???
Could you please let me know where the English test can be carried out in Turkey, nearest to Fethye, Mugla. Also is this already in place now and how long will it take for the course to be completed. My daughter is planning on applying for her husbands visa to come to join her in england for 2 years and she is looking at applying in February.
Michelle
Unfortunately you can only find out who provides the test in a specific place by checking with each individual provider on the UKBA list - you can find a link to the current list at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsfragments/26-english-l...
For Turkey, it would be worth trying the bigger international providers, such as Educational Testing Service, Pearson, EDI and Cambridge. Where they have a website, you should be able to find out if they have a specific test centre in Turkey and where it is. Also remember that some providers may have a test centre but not for the basic level of test which your daughter's husband would be expected to pass, so it's important to make sure they provide this basic test (level A1).
Some latest development on the spousal visa and language requirements.... Migrants Rights Network will blog about this soon with our views on the issue, but in the mean time here is the latest news for your information
---------------------------
The Government's new policy of insisting that spouses and civil partners of foreign nationals must be able to speak English suffered a major setback after a ruling by the High Court on 1st March 2011.
Mr Justice Beatson sitting at the Birmingham Administrative Court on 1st March 2011 granted permission to apply for Judicial Review to three Claimants. They had each sought to have their spouses join them in this country. They are nationals of Pakistan, Yemen and India. They do not speak, read or write English. They had contended that a new amendment to the Immigration Rules which was brought in very recently was discriminatory as the change of rules applied only to certain countries and not for example to Canada or Australia or the European Union. The Claimants had also asserted that the Government's Rule meant that their Article 8 family life and other human rights were breached contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.
In a landmark judgement, Mr Justice Beatson has granted permission to apply for Judicial Review to each of the Claimants after a contested hearing today. The case if some significance. The Government had contended that the English language requirement was for good reasons stating that, "The new rules will help promote the economic well-being of the UK, for example by encouraging integration and protecting public services. It will also assist in removing cultural barriers, broaden opportunities for migrants and help to ensure that they are equipped to play a full part in British life" The statistics presented to the Court showed that this would affect many thousands of potential immigrants to the United Kingdom. Many believe that this was an attempt to reduce the numbers seeking entry from outside the EU and from outside of the USA, Canada and Australia. If that was the Government's attempts then it leaves its policy in disarray and will mean yet another question mark over the Government's commitment to seeing a reduction in the numbers of immigrants that will be granted entry to the United Kingdom.
The Court has listed the cases for a substantive Judicial Review hearing over two days on 18th and 19th July 2011.
The Claimants are represented by Mr Ramby De Mello and Mr Abid Mahmood of No5 Chambers and Mr Tony Muman of 43 Temple Row Chambers, Birmingham. The instructing solicitors are Mr Sanjeev Sharma of JM Wilson & Co LLP Solicitors and Ms Robina Shah of The Immigration Advisory Service, Birmingham Office.
On Wednesday the UKBA published a new list of approved English language test providers in the UK and other countries across the globe, to be phased in for use by Tier 1 and Tier 2 PBS applicants, and spouses and partners. The whereabouts of English language test providers has been a particularly charged issue since the rules changed in relation to those people applying to come to the UK as spouses or partners last year.
From 29th November 2010, those applying as a spouse or partner have been required to take an English language test as part of their application. This was a controversial rule change at the time, as reported on the MRN website. A particular issue is that this requirement could negatively impact on people applying to come to the UK who do not have access to an approved test provider within their country of residence - potentially creating unfair obstacles to their joining family members in the UK. It is also now the subject of a Judicial Review brought by three claimants in the West Midlands, listed for 18th and 19th July 2011.
MRN will be reviewing the list of approved English language test providers over the coming weeks - and gathering views and perspectives from people who have been affected by the English language test requirement for people applying to come to the UK as spouses and partners. If you have been affected by this rule change since November 29th, please get in touch with us at info@migrantsrights.org.uk.
I was posted by my employer in UK in 2008, in December of the same year I met a lady (now my dearest wife) and in may 2009 we decided to get married. We done everything according to law of the land i.e. got permission from the registrar (I wasn't required for HO approval because of immigration status). We lived together for 2-years. Then on consultation with a solicitor I returned to my country to apply spouse visa. Before coming back I passed my requisite English test. After a month or so I received test certificate which I sent scanned copy to my solicitor who after checking told me that the test I have taken is not recognized by the UKBA, as the awarding EDI is not in the new list of test provider which was previously on the list. So about 200 pounds lost. Meanwhile application fee is also raised. Moreover I have got a Bachelors degree in Computer Science on enquiry from UKNaric it is also not acceptable as proof that it was taught in English. Despite it is very much clear that no subject of the computer is available in local language (Urdu).
My point of writing all this is I have spent 2 plus years with my wife and her family who don't know my language, so I was communicating with them in English, and all the proofs of this available. I am very much happy to prove my English capability, but for God sake UKBA should stop the fraudulent institute who deprive people of their money by offering the test which are not recognized by them.
I have also passed Life in UK Test before coming back, as I was thinking I have spent 2 plus years with my wife it might be the test I have to do, but no said by my solicitor. You have to prove your English capability by passing the A1 level.
Can anyone tell me, is there anything in the law given that Life in UK test is appropriate for me or not? As I think it is a bit difficult than the A1 level english test. And it also proves ones English and of course knowledge of UK.
I have already booked a test i.e. Key English Test, Esol of Cambridge University, which a local test centres is providing in Islamabad.
I would end in wife's words, "We have to spend lots of money, to prove that we love each other and have enough resources to live together'. how it make sense!!!!!
I completely agree that the test should be undertaken in the UK. My Husband's English is of a very high standard and he actually works in a call-centre speaking to English speakers all day and is obviously also married to me SO We are in a far better position than most, however, Where can he go to prove it? He lives in Nicaragua. Already he has to travel not only outside of his own country but through another one 1 even 2 other countries for what? Finger Printing and Pictures? He is in Nicaragua but need to go to Panama or Guatemala. Then some how he needs to be able to find a place where he can take a test which satisfies the UK requirements. He could probably write it! To attach the test at the stage of the 2 years, when the visa renewal application is due at least gives them a fighting chance.
Do I really need to up sticks and move to Spain or Ireland and be able to exercise my E.U rights of movement to get him over? Must we use such backhanded methods to be together? I am too ill to travel at the moment and under going hospital treatment. It was not our intention to live in England and long term still is not, but for him to come over and support me he has to travel for days to another country to to Bio tests, come back then do the application on-line and send it to USA. Then wait about 12 weeks for an answer from then. I hate to think about how it would be for people where one partner is terminally ill and rather than be concerning themselves with coming over to see them one last time or care for them, they are having to go on extended travels and study for TESTS. Its Bonkers, to put it mildly.
Karen
I agree with many of your comments. However, I have recently been checking out the arrangements for testing in Central America, and one of the companies on the UKBA list tells me they can do tests in Nicaragua, costing $60 or $100 depending on the test. The contact details are below. You can email them and they should reply. I hope this helps and I would be interested to hear how you get on.
John
TTCI S.A. de C.V.
(International Training, Testing, and Certification Institute)
Km 11 Carretera a Puerto La Libertad
Edificio Facela.
Antiguo Cuscatlán, La Libertad, El Salvador
Phone:
+503-2228-5039
Fax:
+503-2228-4949
E-mail:
karlasegovia@ittci.com, karinamontoya@ittci.com
Website:
www.ittci.com
Partners test for UK, Spouse test, Marriage visa test introduced by UKBA since 29th November 2010. Every spouse/ partner has to clear English basic Level A1 test as per regulation by UK Border Agency, in Punjab India, Jalandhar amritsar, Ludhiana Hoshiarpur Barnala Moga, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Delhi, Mumbai.
Please visit our office for more information.
We will provide the certificate within some days and will be giving you coaching to appear for this test.
Call NORTHWEST IMMIGRATIONS on 0181-4627907 , 8427233007
We have 100% success rate so far. It is a fairly easy test made easier by world class coaching and qualified teachers.
please do not fall into trap of other unsolicited agents who would ask you to get a fake certificate as this is issued from London, USA, Malaysia as per the tests.
We can get you file your case in 1 weeks time. please visit or call for more information.
Thanks for your post, I found best website about English test very good at http://english-test.us and want share to you.
This place has become an advertisement blog, someone is posting adds about his agency and now another one is telling about a website.........
Hi everyone
i'm a british citizen by naturalisation from an ancient french colony which is algeria whose its population are very fluent in french they speak very hardly other foreing language.
My wife wants to join me i sent her to study for nearly 10 months by now she took it 4 times all failed.
That's why i decided to take that ielts by myself 2 months ago to see what's wrong don't be surprised it's something draconian even for high skill students and that live in uk test is too much merciful and nothing compared by this ielts.
So let's be serious now, don't kid us with A1 level with basic english because really it's a scum and an abyss you would never get back to surface.
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