Spouse Visa English Requirement: What Level You Need at Each Stage, and the B2 Change from 26 March 2027

Key Takeaways

• You need A1 English to enter, A2 to extend and B1 to settle today. All three levels are tested in speaking and listening only. They are set by paragraphs E-ECP.4.1 (first application), E-LTRP.4.1A (the extension after 30 months as a partner) and E-ILRP.1.6 of Appendix FM, which applies Appendix KoLL at settlement.
• Settlement applications made on or after 26 March 2027 need B2 in speaking and listening. This is confirmed law, not a proposal. It was laid in Statement of Changes HC 1691 on 5 March 2026 and is already written into paragraph 2.2(c) of Appendix KoLL. The A1 and A2 stages do not change.
• The date you apply for settlement decides your level, not the date you arrived. A settlement application made before 26 March 2027 is assessed at B1. One made on or after that date is assessed at B2, however long ago you entered the UK, and you cannot apply until you have completed 60 months as a partner.
• A1 and A2 results never carry forward to settlement, and a B1 result stops carrying forward on 26 March 2027. Under paragraph 2.2(ba) of Appendix KoLL, an earlier grant counts at settlement from that date only if it was given on an English qualification of at least B2. Most partners who entered at A1 and extended at A2 will need new evidence unless they are exempt.
• There is no approved B2 test that covers only speaking and listening. On the approved test lists checked on 13 October 2026, speaking-and-listening tests stop at B1 and every B2 test examines all four skills. If you test, aim for B2 in reading and writing as well, because a B2 pass also meets the B1 standard if you apply before 26 March 2027.
• A new English test must have been taken no more than two years before you apply. Appendix FM-SE paragraph 27 and Appendix KoLL paragraph 2.2(c) both set this limit. At entry and extension, a result already accepted in an earlier successful application at the level now needed still counts. At settlement, an older result counts only if your permission was granted on it and the provider is still approved.
• Nationality, an English-taught degree, age and disability work at every stage, but exceptional circumstances do not. Nationals of the 18 countries in paragraph GEN.1.6, holders of a UK degree or an overseas degree that Ecctis confirms was taught in English, and applicants aged 65 or over all meet or are exempt from the requirement at each stage. The exceptional circumstances exemption exists at entry and extension only, not at settlement.
• Failing the English requirement at settlement gives you 30 more months on the route, not a refusal, but it can push you into B2. Under paragraph D-ILRP.1.2 you are granted further permission as a partner for up to 30 months instead, as long as you pay the Immigration Health Charge when asked. If your next settlement application is made on or after 26 March 2027, it must meet B2.
• Children under 18 and adult dependent relatives do not have to prove English. A child who is 18 or over when applying to settle must meet the same B1 or B2 standard under paragraph 298(vii) of Part 8 of the Immigration Rules.
• We check your English evidence against your exact application date and prepare the application. Our spouse visa service confirms which level applies to you, whether an earlier result or degree still counts, and whether you qualify for an exemption, at the first application, the extension and settlement.

Introduction

The spouse and partner route tests your English three times in five years, and the level goes up each time. Most couples prepare for the first test. Fewer realise the requirement rises at the two and a half year extension, and fewer still know that the settlement stage moves from B1 to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027.

This guide covers partners on the five-year route under Appendix FM: husbands, wives, civil partners, unmarried partners and fiancé(e)s of a British citizen or a person settled in the UK. It sets out the level you need at each stage, the paragraph that sets it, when an earlier result can be used again, who is exempt, and how to time a test so it does not cost you months.

The B2 change is confirmed law. It was laid before Parliament in Statement of Changes HC 1691 on 5 March 2026 and written into Appendix KoLL from 26 March 2026, worded so that the higher level applies to settlement applications made on or after 26 March 2027. Earned settlement is different. It is still a proposal, nothing about it has been decided, and it is dealt with in one short section near the end.

One point of law is often stated wrongly. On the five-year route, the settlement English requirement sits in paragraph E-ILRP.1.6 of Appendix FM and in Appendix KoLL, not in Appendix Settlement Family Life, which governs the 10-year route. Both reach B2 on the same date, but the evidence rules differ. If you also need to meet the £29,000 income threshold, our guide to proving the spouse visa financial requirement covers it, our post on whether the £29,000 income requirement will be lowered tracks the review of that figure, and our English language requirements guidance compares every route.

The English Level You Need at Each Stage

The requirement applies to the partner who is applying, and at every stage it is measured on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Only speaking and listening count. The Home Office caseworker guidance on the family English requirement tells decision makers to "ignore test scores in reading and writing in partner and parent applications as those skills are not required to meet the Immigration Rules". At settlement, Appendix KoLL also asks for speaking and listening only.

Settlement also needs the Life in the UK test under paragraph 2.3 of Appendix KoLL. It is a separate requirement, and passing it does nothing for the English requirement.

The first application: A1

Paragraph E-ECP.4.1 requires an applicant for entry clearance to show they have "passed an English language test in speaking and listening at a minimum of level A1", or to meet the requirement through nationality or a degree, or to be exempt. Fiancé(e)s and proposed civil partners apply under the same paragraph. A partner applying for their first permission from inside the UK meets the same A1 standard under E-LTRP.4.1.

GOV.UK says you "can choose to take a higher level test", and it is worth considering. A pass at A2 or above can be used again at the extension, and a higher pass can cover later stages too (see the reuse table below).

The extension after two and a half years: A2

Entry clearance as a partner is granted for up to 33 months and each extension for up to 30 months (paragraphs D-ECP.1.1 and D-LTRP.1.1). When you apply to extend after 30 months as a partner, paragraph E-LTRP.4.1A applies if you met the first stage "on the basis that [you] had passed an English language test in speaking and listening at level A1". You must then show A2, unless you are a national of a listed country, hold a degree taught in English to A2 or above, or are exempt.

If you were exempt at the first stage on exceptional circumstances grounds, the position is different. The caseworker guidance says you "will be required to meet the English language requirement at A1 level" when you extend after 30 months, unless you remain exempt. Time spent in the UK as a fiancé(e) does not count towards the five years (paragraph E-ILRP.1.3(2)).

Settlement after five years: B1 now, B2 from 26 March 2027

Paragraph E-ILRP.1.6 of Appendix FM says the applicant "must have demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the English language and sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom in accordance with the requirements of Appendix KoLL". Paragraph 2.2(c) of Appendix KoLL then requires a pass in speaking and listening at B1 "where the date of application is before 26 March 2027", and at B2 "where the date of application is on or after 26 March 2027". In both cases the test must be "taken at a test centre approved by the Secretary of State as a Secure English Language Test Centre no more than two years before the date of application".

The explanatory memorandum to HC 1691 lists Appendix KoLL among the 14 appendices whose settlement English requirement rises to B2, and says the change "will therefore apply to those already on a pathway to settlement". There is no saving for people who entered before the change was announced.

Which Settlement Rule Applies to You

The deciding fact is the date of your settlement application. Paragraph 2.2(b) of Appendix KoLL turns on whether "the applicant applied before 26 March 2027", and paragraph 2.2(c) on whether "the date of application is on or after 26 March 2027". When you arrived, and when you were last granted permission, make no difference.

You cannot choose your application date freely, because paragraph E-ILRP.1.3 requires you to have completed at least 60 months with permission as a partner at the date you apply, and you must still hold valid permission as a partner when you apply (E-ILRP.1.2). Our free ILR eligibility calculator works out the date you complete five years, which tells you which side of 26 March 2027 you are likely to fall.

If you are testing anyway, test at B2. A B2 pass is "at a minimum level B1", so it meets the standard before 26 March 2027 and protects you if your application slips past that date.

Can You Reuse an Earlier English Result?

Two different rules decide this, one for the first two stages and one for settlement.

For the first application and the extension, paragraph 27 of Appendix FM-SE accepts a test taken in the last two years "or if they have already shown they met the requirement in this manner at the level required for their current application, in a previous successful application for entry clearance or permission to stay". Paragraph 32D adds that a result already accepted in a successful application will still be accepted if it is past its validity date or the provider is no longer approved, "provided that it is at or above the requisite level". The result must not have been withdrawn by the provider.

For settlement, paragraph 2.2(b) of Appendix KoLL accepts a previous grant of permission that "was given on the basis that the applicant had an English language qualification at a minimum level of B1", provided the provider is still approved and the application is made before 26 March 2027. From 26 March 2027, paragraph 2.2(ba) replaces B1 with B2.

The GOV.UK knowledge of English page says: "If you pass level B1 or higher, you can use your test result again when you apply for settlement after 5 years." That is true today, but the page was last updated on 31 October 2024, before HC 1691 was laid, and it does not mention the B2 change. For applications made on or after 26 March 2027, only a result at B2 or above carries forward.

The people most exposed are those who entered at A1 and extended at A2. Neither result counts at settlement on any date. The next group is partners who passed B1 for their extension: that result works for a settlement application made before 26 March 2027, and not after it.

The B2 Test Problem: No Speaking and Listening Only Test

The Rules ask for B2 in speaking and listening. The GOV.UK page on secure English language tests lists partner, parent and settlement applications among the routes that need "a test that assesses your speaking and listening abilities". But the approved test lists tell a different story at B2.

That is the position on both the UK and the overseas lists as checked on 13 October 2026. So anyone using a test to meet the B2 settlement standard will sit a test covering reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Whether your reading and writing scores must also reach B2 is not settled in writing. The Rules require only speaking and listening. The SELT page says that where components are "examined and awarded together, you must show that you achieved the required scores in all the relevant components", which points to speaking and listening. The Home Office caseworker guidance on knowledge of language and life (version 31.0, published to staff on 18 December 2025) predates HC 1691. It does not mention B2 or 26 March 2027 at all, and so does not yet say how a four-skill test will be assessed for a B2 speaking and listening requirement.

The Rules are the legal requirement, and we follow them. Until the guidance is updated, the safe answer is the same whichever way it goes: if you sit a B2 test, aim for B2 in all four skills, and you meet both readings. Our post on which English tests UKVI accepts for ILR after 26 March 2027 covers the individual tests and providers.

Exemptions and Other Ways to Meet the Requirement

A test is not the only route. The table shows each alternative and exemption by stage.

Nationality

Paragraph GEN.1.6 lists 18 countries and territories: 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, and the United States of America. Appendix KoLL uses the same list at settlement. You prove nationality with your passport, and a dual national can rely on either nationality (Appendix FM-SE paragraph 28).

A degree taught in English, and the Ecctis step

A UK bachelor's, master's or PhD meets the requirement at every stage, and GOV.UK says you "only need your degree certificate". For a degree awarded outside the UK, you need confirmation from Ecctis that it is equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree or above and was taught or researched in English. Since 26 March 2026 the Rules call Ecctis "the qualification and language assessments provider", but GOV.UK still names Ecctis and the service is the same.

At the first two stages Ecctis must confirm the teaching was at A1 or A2 or above, as the stage requires. A degree from Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British Overseas Territories, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the UK or the USA is assumed to have been taught in English (Appendix FM-SE paragraph 32). Canada is on the nationality list but not on this one. If Ecctis has already assessed your degree, GOV.UK says you do not need to reapply.

Age

You are exempt if you are 65 or over on the date of application. The same test applies at all three stages: paragraphs E-ECP.4.2(a) and E-LTRP.4.2(a) say "aged 65 or over", and paragraph 3.1(b) of Appendix KoLL says "at least 65 years of age at the date of his or her application". Turning 65 after you apply does not help.

Disability or a physical or mental condition

At the first two stages the condition must prevent you from meeting the requirement. The caseworker guidance calls this "not a blanket exemption", asks for medical evidence from a practitioner "qualified in the appropriate field", and says each case is considered on its merits. At settlement, paragraph 3.1(c) of Appendix KoLL asks whether it "would be unreasonable to expect the applicant to fulfil either or both parts of that requirement", and paragraph 4.13ZA requires a form published on GOV.UK, completed by your GP or a GMC-registered consultant who has met you in person.

Exceptional circumstances

This exemption exists at the first application and the extension only. The caseworker guidance gives examples: living long-term in a country affected by armed conflict or a humanitarian disaster, being in hospital for several months immediately before applying, being the full-time carer of a disabled child who is also applying, or living where there is no approved A1 test and travel to another country is not practicable. It also says that "lack of or limited literacy or education will not in itself be accepted" and that it will be "extremely rare" for the exemption to apply to someone already in the UK. There is no exceptional circumstances exemption in Appendix KoLL.

Timing: Book Early and Keep Your Permission Valid

Most English problems on this route are timing problems rather than ability problems. Four rules matter.

• A test result lasts two years for a new application. The SELT page says your test must "have been awarded in the two years before the date of your application". The exceptions for earlier results are narrower at settlement than at the first two stages (see the reuse section above).
• Booking takes time. GOV.UK says you "should be able to take a test within 28 days of booking, but it may not always be at the location nearest to you". Plan for a resit as well as a first attempt. The family caseworker guidance says applicants "may make as many attempts as they wish", but you must hold the evidence when you apply.
• Your permission must not run out while you wait. You must hold valid permission as a partner when you apply for settlement (E-ILRP.1.2), and GOV.UK says you can extend "at any time before your current permission to stay in the UK expires". If a result will not arrive in time, apply on the evidence you have or extend; do not let your permission lapse.
• A missing level at settlement costs you 30 months. Paragraph D-ILRP.1.2 says that where you have "not demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the English language or about life in the United Kingdom in accordance with Appendix KoLL", you "will be granted further limited leave to remain as a partner for a period not exceeding 30 months", with no recourse to public funds. Paragraph GEN.1.15 treats the application as one for permission to stay, and if you do not pay the Immigration Health Charge when asked, that application is invalid and the settlement fee is not refunded.

That last rule is the sequencing trap. Someone who applies for settlement in early 2027 without B1 evidence is not refused, but is granted another 30 months. Their next settlement application will almost certainly be made on or after 26 March 2027, and must then meet B2. If your five years end before 26 March 2027, have your evidence in hand before you apply.

At the extension stage there is no such safety net. If you cannot show A2 and are not exempt, the caseworker guidance says the application "will be refused under the 5-year route to settlement", unless you qualify for the 10-year route because paragraph EX.1 or the exceptional circumstances in GEN.3.2 apply. Where your earlier result is below the level now required, a decision maker may give you one month to show the higher level, but that is discretion, not an entitlement.

Children and Adult Dependent Relatives

The family English requirement applies to the partner or parent applying. The caseworker guidance says it "does not apply to dependants of such applicants", and the GOV.UK page confirms you do not need to prove English if you are applying as a child or as an adult coming to be cared for by a relative.

The age that matters is the child's age on the date of the settlement application. A child who was under 18 when the family arrived may be 18 by the time they apply, and then needs evidence at the level in force on that date. Our guidance on dependants and family and our guide to ILR for dependants cover the wider requirements.

Other Partners: the 10-Year Route and Partners of Skilled Workers

The 10-year partner route. If you are granted permission under the exceptions in Appendix FM rather than its full requirements, you are on the 10-year route. Paragraphs E-LTRP.4.1 and E-LTRP.4.1A apply "unless paragraph EX.1. applies", and the caseworker guidance says applicants for permission to stay on the 10-year route "are not required to meet the English language requirement". Settlement is then under Appendix Settlement Family Life (paragraph GEN.1.17 of Appendix FM), where paragraph SETF 5.1 moves from B1 to B2 in speaking and listening on the same date and the evidence is assessed under Appendix English Language. Our comparison of the spouse route and the private life route explains when each applies.

Partners of Skilled Workers. A partner who came as the dependant of a Skilled Worker is on a different route and settles under paragraph SW 44.1 of Appendix Skilled Worker, which also moves from B1 to B2 in speaking and listening on 26 March 2027. Our posts on B2 English for Skilled Worker ILR and the new B2 requirement for Skilled Workers and their families cover that route.

What Earned Settlement Could Change

The earned settlement model is still a proposal. As of 13 October 2026 nothing has been decided or laid before Parliament, and the five-year route and the B2 change described above are the law. Our earned settlement update sets out where it stands.

What to Do at Each Stage

Before your first application. Check whether nationality or a degree covers you. If not, consider testing above A1. An A2 pass saves a test at the extension, and a B2 pass can carry you to settlement if your permission is granted on it.

Before your extension. Look at how you met the first stage. If it was an A1 test, you need A2 or above. If you are testing now and your five years will end on or after 26 March 2027, a B2 test costs more effort today but may be the last English test you sit on this route.

Within 18 months of settlement. Work out your five-year date, compare it with 26 March 2027, and check whether any earlier result meets the level for that date. If not, book a test early enough to allow a resit and still apply on time.

How Can WorkPermitCloud Help?

WorkPermitCloud is an IAA-regulated immigration adviser (F202100311) that prepares spouse and partner visa applications at every stage, including checking which English level applies to each partner on their application date. Through our spouse visa service we confirm whether an earlier test, a degree or your nationality already meets the requirement, whether you qualify for an exemption, and when you should test so that your evidence is valid on the day you apply.

If you are not married, our unmarried partner visa service applies the same checks, and our partner and family visa services cover parents, children and fiancé(e)s. If settlement is close, start with the free ILR eligibility calculator and then speak to us.

Conclusion

The spouse visa English requirement rises in three steps: A1, A2, then B1 at settlement. From 26 March 2027 the last step becomes B2, and it applies to everyone whose settlement application is made on or after that date, including people who arrived years earlier. The first two steps do not change.

Most people affected will need new evidence, because A1 and A2 results never carry to settlement and B1 results stop doing so on that date. The approved B2 tests all examine four skills. Work out your five-year date, check what your existing evidence covers, and if you need a test, aim for B2 in every skill and take it early. For the rules on every other route, see our guide to UK English language requirements for immigration applications.

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