Purpose
A pass in the test fulfils the requirements for "sufficient knowledge of life in the United Kingdom" which were introduced for naturalisation on 1 November 2005 and which were introduced for settlement on 2 April 2007. It simultaneously fulfils the language requirement by demonstrating "a sufficient knowledge" of the English language.
Legally, sufficient knowledge of Welsh or Scottish Gaelic can also be used to fulfil the language requirement. Home Office guidance states that if anyone wishes to take the test in these languages (for instance Gaelic‐speaking Canadians or Welsh‐speaking Argentinians) arrangements will be made for them to do so. In practice, very few, if any, take the test in a language other than English.
An alternative method of satisfying the language and life in the UK requirements when applying for indefinite leave to remain not British citizenship is to complete a course of "language-with-civic-content" based on a set of published materials. This is only valid if completed before 6th November 2010. These courses are often referred to as "ESOL with Citizenship" and lead to a nationally-accredited ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) certificate. It is the certificate which fulfils the requirement for sufficient language and knowledge of life in the UK. The course has to be studied at an accredited college for it to be valid otherwise the certificates will not be accepted by the Home Office. The full name of the course is "ESOL with Citizenship: Skills for Life".
Plans to introduce such a test were announced in September 2002 by the then United Kingdom Home Secretary David Blunkett. Blunkett appointed a "Life in the United Kingdom Advisory Group," chaired by Sir Bernard Crick, to formulate the test content. In 2003, the Group produced a report, "The New and the Old," with recommendations for the design and administration of the test. There was dissent among the committee members on certain issues, and many of the recommendations were not adopted by the Government. Plans to require foreign-born religious ministers to take the test earlier than other immigrants were later abandoned by the then Immigration Minister, Tony McNulty.
Read more about this topic: Life In The United Kingdom Test
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