Is the English requirement for settlement changing?

What is changing, and when

Nothing changes yet. On 26 March 2027 the English level for settlement goes up from CEFR B1 to CEFR B2. B2 is one level higher. It asks for more confident speaking and listening than B1 does.

The rule itself is Appendix KoLL of the Immigration Rules, which is the part that sets out what you have to show to settle here. It now gives the level by the date of your application. Before 26 March 2027 the level is B1. On or after 26 March 2027 it is B2. That is paragraph 2.2 of the appendix, and it is on GOV.UK now, so you can read it today even though it does not apply yet.

The change was made by the statement of changes to the Immigration Rules published on 5 March 2026, numbered HC 1691. The explanatory memorandum published alongside it says the same thing in plainer words, that these changes will come into force on 26 March 2027.

One thing to be careful about if you go looking. GOV.UK also published a news story on 5 March 2026 headed that a higher standard of English is now required to settle in the UK. The word now there means the rule was made then. It does not mean the higher level applies yet. That story describes the new level as an A level equivalent standard and gives the timing as March 2027. It does not say B2 and it does not give the day. The rules do both, which is why we have followed the rules here.

The date was set far ahead on purpose. The memorandum says the start was deferred to give people affected enough time to take the steps they need to meet the new level.

It applies to people already on a path to settlement, not only to people arriving later. So if you are partway through a route now and you will make your settlement application on or after 26 March 2027, B2 is the level that will apply to you.

Settlement and citizenship are not the same application

This is where most of the confusion comes from, so it is worth going slowly.

Settling in the UK, which GOV.UK also calls indefinite leave to remain, is one application. Becoming a British citizen, called naturalisation, is a separate application that most people make later. Different forms, different fees, different rules.

The 2027 change is about settlement. Appendix KoLL, the rule that carries it, says at the top that it is about applications for indefinite leave to enter or remain. Citizenship is not in it. The explanatory memorandum published with the change does not mention naturalisation anywhere either. So the English level for citizenship is still CEFR B1 or above, and it stays there unless the government changes it separately, which it has not announced.

If you read that the English requirement for citizenship is going up to B2, check where that came from. It is not in the rules that changed.

The Life in the UK Test is not changing

None of this touches the test. GOV.UK still describes the same test, from the same official handbook. You still get 24 questions in 45 minutes, you still need 18 correct to pass, which is 75 percent, and it still costs £50. No new handbook edition and no new test has been published.

You need the Life in the UK Test for both settlement and citizenship, and that has not changed either. For more on the test itself, read is the Life in the UK Test changing.

Work visas moved first

The higher level is not brand new. Since 8 January 2026, new applicants on the Skilled Worker, Scale-up and High Potential Individual routes have had to meet B2 rather than B1. The 2027 change carries the same higher level through to the settlement stage, for a long list of routes.

What is worth watching

Appendix KoLL is the part of the rules that carries this change. KoLL stands for knowledge of language and life, and it ties together both halves of what you have to show, the English and the Life in the UK Test. It covers applications to settle, and only those. The same name is used on the citizenship side, in Home Office guidance that covers settling and naturalising together, and that guidance still says B1. So the name is worth keeping an eye on. It is not a change to citizenship.

There is also a proposal in the background. The government white paper published in May 2025, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, set out an intention to shift the test itself toward British values. The English part of that white paper is what now has a date. The test part does not have one, and proposed is not the same as in force.

What to do now

Work out which application you are making, settlement or citizenship, and read the English rules for that one. If you will apply to settle on or after 26 March 2027, plan for B2 and give yourself time.

For the Life in the UK Test, carry on as you are. The test in front of you today is the one that counts, and it has not moved. You can start free practice with no account needed, and read whether you also need the B1 English test for how the two requirements fit together.

This is a live policy area, so check GOV.UK yourself if you are reading this long after it was written.