Do I need B2 English for ILR?

If you apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) on or after 26 March 2027, most routes need a B2 English test in speaking and listening. If you apply before that date the level is still B1, and some people do not need an English test at all.

Is this confirmed, or just a proposal?

It is confirmed. The change was made by the Statement of Changes HC 1691, laid before Parliament on 5 March 2026, and it is now in the Immigration Rules on GOV.UK (Appendix KoLL, updated 8 October 2026). This is separate from the plan to make settlement take 10 years, which is still only a proposal: see Is ILR going to 10 years?.

What does the test cover?

The Rules ask for a Secure English Language Test (SELT) "in speaking and listening, at a minimum level B2", taken at an approved centre no more than 2 years before the date of your application. There is no reading or writing part in the Rules text. (A Home Office press release from 5 March 2026 mentions reading and writing too. The Rules text is what decides applications, so we follow it, but we are telling you about the difference.) Which tests count is explained in Which English tests count for ILR at B2?.

Which routes move from B1 to B2?

Every route that uses Appendix KoLL moves to B2 for applications on or after 26 March 2027. That includes Skilled Worker (and Health and Care Worker), their partners, family (partner and parent) ILR, Long Residence, Private Life, UK Ancestry, Global Talent, Innovator Founder and Scale-up. Skilled Worker and Scale-up main applicants do not need a settlement test today, but they will from that date: see I proved my English for my visa. Do I need it again?. For partners and children, see Does my partner or child need B2?.

Two routes stay at B1: British National (Overseas) and the partners and children of HM Armed Forces members.

Who usually does not need a test?

• People under 18 or aged 65 or over on the date they apply.
• People with a long-term physical or mental condition that prevents it. This is decided case by case and needs a doctor's exemption form.
• Nationals of a majority-English-speaking country on the GOV.UK list (for example Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand or the USA). Countries where English is only one official language, such as India, Nigeria or Ghana, are not on the list.
• People with a degree taught or researched in English: see Does my degree count?.
• Refugees and people with humanitarian protection, adult dependent relatives, victims of domestic abuse, and people applying under the EU Settlement Scheme, which has no English requirement.

What we are not sure about

Domestic Worker in a Private Household, bereaved partners, and whether an older B2 result from an earlier visa still counts all depend on details we could not settle from the Rules text. For those, check GOV.UK for your route or ask a regulated adviser.

Last checked against GOV.UK: 21 October 2026.

Sources

1. Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1691 (5 March 2026), GOV.UK (checked 20 Oct 2026)
2. Immigration Rules: Appendix KoLL (updated 8 October 2026), GOV.UK (checked 20 Oct 2026)
3. HC 1691 Explanatory Memorandum (paragraphs 5.60 to 5.62), GOV.UK (checked 20 Oct 2026)
4. Prove your knowledge of English: exemptions, GOV.UK (checked 21 Oct 2026)
5. Prove your English language abilities with a Secure English Language Test (SELT), last updated 12 October 2026, GOV.UK (checked 21 Oct 2026)
6. Home Office news: Higher standard of English now required to settle in the UK (5 March 2026), GOV.UK (checked 21 Oct 2026)
7. Immigration Rules: Appendix Hong Kong British National (Overseas), GOV.UK (checked 20 Oct 2026)
8. Immigration Rules: Appendix HM Armed Forces, GOV.UK (checked 20 Oct 2026)

This is general information, not immigration advice. Check GOV.UK for your own route, or speak to a regulated immigration adviser (registered with the IAA, formerly OISC). Find a regulated adviser on GOV.UK.