Life in the UK Test questions and answers

Most people applying to stay in the UK permanently or to become a British citizen need to pass the test. This usually means adults aged 18 to 64 applying for indefinite leave to remain, also called settlement, or applying for citizenship. Some people are exempt, and the questions below explain who.

You need the test for both settlement and citizenship, unless you are exempt. Settlement, also called indefinite leave to remain, and citizenship both ask for it. A single pass covers both, so most people take the test once.

No. The Life in the UK Test and the B1 English test are two separate requirements, and most adults need both. The B1 English test checks your speaking and listening in English. Passing one does not cover the other, so plan for both if your application needs them.

The B1 English test is a separate GOV.UK service, so check whether your application needs both.

No. Passing the B1 English test does not remove the need to pass the Life in the UK Test. They are independent of each other, so you still need to pass the Life in the UK Test even after you pass B1 English.

Practical guidance. GOV.UK covers the two requirements on separate pages.

Yes. If you are under 18 when you apply, you do not need to take the test, and you do not need to send any evidence for this.

Yes. If you are 65 or over when you apply, you do not need to take the test, and you do not need to send any evidence for this.

You may be exempt if you have a long term physical or mental condition that stops you meeting the requirement. To claim this exemption you need a letter from a doctor to support it.

No. A diagnosis on its own does not give you an exemption. The condition must be long term and must genuinely stop you from meeting the requirement, and you need medical evidence to show this.

Practical guidance from immigration sources. Confirm the exact medical evidence needed on GOV.UK.

No. If you have passed the Life in the UK Test before, you do not need to take it again. A previous pass counts, because a pass does not expire.

The test has 24 questions and you have 45 minutes to answer them. The questions are multiple choice, so you pick the best answer from the options on the screen. That gives you a little under two minutes for each question, which is enough time to read carefully and still finish.

You must score 75 percent or more to pass, which means at least 18 correct answers out of 24. GOV.UK states this on its what happens at the test page. You can get up to 6 questions wrong and still pass, so you do not need to be perfect.

You book the test yourself online through GOV.UK. You choose a test centre and a time when you book. Only GOV.UK can take your booking and payment for the real test, so always start there and be careful of other sites that claim to book it for you.

You need to book at least 3 days in advance. So plan ahead rather than leaving your booking to the last day before you need your result.

There are over 30 test centres across the UK, and you choose the one you want when you book. You pick your centre and time together as part of booking on GOV.UK.

You can cancel or move your test, and get a refund, only if you do it at least 3 days before the test. If you cancel or change it within 3 days, you do not get a refund. Use the same official GOV.UK service you booked with to make any change.

If you do not turn up, or you arrive late, you do not get a refund. Arriving late, bringing the wrong identification, or missing documents all count as reasons where no refund is given. So arrive in good time with the right documents.

You complain to PSI, the company that runs the test, not to GOV.UK. At the time of research you had 3 months from your test to complain, and PSI aimed to reply within 10 working days.

The test is normally taken in English. You can take it in Welsh only at a test centre in Wales, and in Scottish Gaelic only at a test centre in Scotland, so the language follows the centre you choose. It is not an option you pick at the end of booking. If you want Welsh or Scottish Gaelic, decide the location first, and ask for the language through the special arrangements step, which the official booking service puts at the start of a booking rather than the end. If English is not your first language, practising the questions helps you get used to how they are worded.

Home Office caseworker guidance states the Welsh and Gaelic rule. The special arrangements step is described by the official booking service.

The test itself lasts 45 minutes, and you should expect to be at the test centre for up to 2 hours in total, because your identification is checked and your photo is taken first. You must arrive at least 30 minutes before your appointment time. The booking terms call this the minimum arrival time, and arriving after it counts as failing to attend, so you would not sit the test and you would not get your fee back. You will also be sent an email telling you what time to arrive, and that email is the one to go by for your own booking.

The 30 minute rule is in the booking terms GOV.UK publishes, which allow a different time to be set for your booking. The 2 hour figure is from the official booking service.

You must bring the same original photo identification that you used when you booked. It must be the original document, not a copy or a screenshot, and the name must be an exact match with your booking. GOV.UK accepts a valid passport, a valid national identity card from the EU, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, a valid travel document with a photo, a biometric residence permit or card, or an eVisa share code. GOV.UK does not list a proof of address requirement for the test itself.

Identification list confirmed on GOV.UK 2026-09-06. Proof of address is not mentioned on the pages that would carry it, so the absence is reported rather than a denial being claimed.

You are often asked to bring proof of your address that is recent, usually from the last 3 months. Bringing a recent bill or an official letter that shows your address is a safe step, so check what your centre asks for before you travel.

Practical guidance. The GOV.UK test pages do not detail the address rule.

When you arrive, your identification is checked and your photo is taken, and then you sit the test on a computer. The test has 24 multiple choice questions and lasts 45 minutes. Arriving in good time with the right identification makes the day much calmer.

Yes. Your photo is taken at the test centre on the day. If you refuse to have your photo taken, you cannot sit the test and you do not get a refund, so this is a required step.

If you bring the wrong identification, you cannot take the test that day and you do not get a refund. This is one of the most common reasons people lose their booking, so check your identification carefully against your booking before you travel.

Yes. Every question on the test is multiple choice. You read the question and choose the best answer from the options shown on the screen. There is no writing or speaking part, so the whole test is about reading each question carefully and picking the right answer.

Yes. You can move between questions and change your answers before you finish and submit the test. So if you are unsure of one, you can move on and come back to it later.

Practical guidance, widely reported. Not stated on GOV.UK.

Ask when you book, not on the day. GOV.UK says you can make special requests at booking, and gives the example of a disability where you need extra equipment or help getting into the centre. It describes this in general terms and does not spell out what is offered for a reading difficulty, so ask the helpline first if that is your situation. Separately, if a long term physical or mental condition means you cannot take the test at all, there is an exemption form rather than an adjustment.

You are normally told whether you passed straight away, on the screen, when you finish. If you pass, keep the proof safe, because you will need it for your application and your pass does not expire.

Practical guidance. GOV.UK does not state a result timeline.

The test is very passable with steady practice, though it does take real preparation. You need 18 correct out of 24 to pass, which is 75 percent, so you can get some questions wrong and still pass. Some sources say roughly 1 in 3 people fail on their first try, so it is worth preparing properly.

The 1 in 3 fail rate is an estimate from other sources, not an official GOV.UK figure.

The real questions are written from the official handbook, and the wording can be different from the practice questions you see in apps. So the facts are the same, but a question may be phrased in a new way on the day. Practising until you understand the facts, not just the exact wording, is the best way to be ready.

Practical guidance. GOV.UK does not compare the real test to practice apps.

The test is based on the official handbook called Life in the United Kingdom, A Guide for New Residents, which is currently the 3rd edition. Every question comes from this handbook, so studying it is the surest way to prepare.

The test draws its questions from the official handbook, Life in the United Kingdom, A Guide for New Residents, which is the 3rd edition and has been since 2013. It is not free on GOV.UK. You can buy it as a book, an ebook or in audio from the official shop that GOV.UK links to, and from other booksellers. Practice questions help you find the gaps, but the handbook is where the answers come from.

Edition and formats confirmed against GOV.UK and its linked official retailer 2026-09-06. Re-check if a new edition ships, since a refresh of the test is proposed but not in force.

It depends on you, but many people prepare over about 2 to 8 weeks, depending on how much they already know. Short, regular practice works better than one long session. A good sign you are ready is scoring above 18 out of 24 in practice most times, not just once.

The best way to study is to mix reading the handbook with lots of practice questions. Practising real style questions shows you how the facts are asked about and tells you which topics you need to work on. Spend your time on the topics you get wrong, then practise them again until they stick.

No. Do not try to memorise practice questions word for word. The wording of the real questions is changed over time, so learning a question bank by heart can let you down on the day. Aim to understand the facts in the handbook, and the questions will make sense however they are worded.

Practical guidance, strongly agreed across study sources.

People most often find the questions about dates, names, and specific historical facts the hardest, because there is a lot to remember. History, values and principles, government, and facts about Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all come up. The good news is that practice fixes these, because you meet the same kind of facts again and again.

Yes. Some key historical dates come up again and again, and they are a common place people slip. Learning the main dates, rather than trying to learn every date, is a good use of your time. Practising the same dates over several days helps them stick.

Aim to score around 21 or 22 out of 24 in practice before you book, and to reach that most times, not just once. Scoring a little above the pass mark of 18 gives you a buffer for test day nerves.

Practical advice, not an official rule.

The test currently costs £50 to book, and you pay this each time you take it. Because of that, it is worth being confident in your practice scores before you book, so that you do not pay the fee more than once.

If you do not pass, you can book and take the test again. Not passing first time is common and it does not affect your immigration status on its own. Use the time before your next attempt to practise the topics you found hardest, then book again when you are ready.

There is no limit. GOV.UK says you can rebook the test as many times as you need. You do have to pay the fee each time, so steady practice before you book is the cheapest way to pass.

Yes. You pay the fee, currently £50, each time you take the test, including every retake. Because of that, it is worth being confident in your practice scores before you book again.

GOV.UK does not state a waiting period after failing, so there is no official cooldown you must wait out. In practice, how soon you can rebook depends on the test slots available at your centre. So you can usually book again as soon as there is a slot.

You can only get the fee back if you cancel or move your test at least 3 days before it. If you change your mind within 3 days, or you do not turn up, you do not get a refund.

The test fee is a small part of the total cost of settling or becoming British. The larger costs are the application fees for settlement or citizenship, the separate B1 English test, and the immigration health surcharge where it applies. The full total depends on your route.

Practical guidance. The total depends on your route, so check the current fees for your application on GOV.UK.

No. A pass does not expire. Once you have passed, you keep that result for future applications, such as settlement and later citizenship. So there is no need to take the test again just because time has passed. Keep the proof of your pass somewhere safe.

GOV.UK is silent on expiry. This is well-established guidance from other sources.

No. If you passed the test for your settlement application, you do not take it again for citizenship. One pass covers both applications, because a pass does not expire.

GOV.UK is silent on this point. This is well-established guidance from other sources.

When you pass, you are given a unique reference number to use in your settlement or citizenship application. This reference number is the proof of your pass, so keep it safe. You will enter it on your application form.

The reference number you get when you pass is the proof you keep, rather than a paper certificate. The format has changed over time, and people who passed before 17 December 2019 were given a letter. Keep whatever proof you are given safe.

You use your unique reference number on your settlement or citizenship application form. It is how the Home Office confirms you have passed the test, so enter it carefully and keep a copy for yourself.

Contact the Life in the UK Test Helpline on 0800 015 4245 or at support@lituk.psionline.com, Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm. They run the test on behalf of the Home Office and hold the booking records. GOV.UK does not publish a way to look the number up yourself, so the helpline is the route. Have your name, date of birth and the address you booked with ready.

Helpline contact confirmed on GOV.UK 2026-09-06. GOV.UK describes no self service recovery process, so none is claimed here.

The test is one part of a settlement or citizenship application, not the whole thing. You also usually need the separate B1 English test and to meet the other rules for your route, such as how long you have lived in the UK. Check the full requirements for your application on GOV.UK.

The other requirements are on separate GOV.UK services.