Life in the UK test
The Life in the UK test is a test that has to be taken and passed by most – but not all – of those who are applying for settlement or British naturalisation. It is not an English language test and is something separate from any English language requirement.
The material for the test comes in a booklet published by the Home Office called “Life in the United Kingdom”. This booklet contains all sorts of facts and information about the United Kingdom – history, politics, culture etc, not just about “life” in the United Kingdom – and there are free test questions available on the internet which provide a good idea about the sort of questions that come up.
The test is an online test that has to be taken at an authorised test centre. There are 24 multiple choice questions, the pass mark is 18, and candidates have 45 minutes in which to take the test. The fee to take the test is £50.
Those under 18 or 65 or over do not need to take the test, and those who have severe medical issues may be able to apply for exemption. A few types of settlement applications – eg refugee/humanitarian protection applications and dependent adult relative applications – have no Life in the UK test requirement but the large majority of applicants for British naturalisation do need to take it.
Once you have passed the test you will never need to take the test again. So, for example, somebody who needs to take the test for their settlement application will not need to take it again for a British naturalisation application. Candidates can attempt the text as many times as they like.
If you are going to take the test you are well advised to study the Life in the United Kingdom booklet very carefully beforehand.
