IELTS used for UK Visa

Howdi to all, few months since ive been on here to busy working my butt off for my wifes visa application, as always things are never straight forward in the Philippines, the pastor made a few errors in out marriage papers so waiting for that to be fixed...

Anyways the time has come to start booking appointments/tests etc, so my wife has the cfo paper for her passport application, she is from Mindanao and already had to spend 1 week in Cebu for that and we had originally planned to get her English test in CDO/Mindanao but now im reading up the only venues which hold these tests is Cebu/Manila so now another trip is required, so this time were hoping to book English test & Tuberculosis test and file her papers for her passport all in 1 trip ( if at all possible in the Philippines )

Im on the IELTS website now and im not 100% sure which test she has to go for, were planning on a permanent spouse visa i think the 2 options are...

Apply for a Marriage Visitor visa if you and your partner want to get married or enter into a civil partnership in the UK.

Apply for a family of a settled person visa if your partner is British or settled in the UK and you wish to join them to live in the UK permanently.

so if im reading correctly my wife will need the A1 English exam ?? and now ive just read up about health surcharges geeso so it never stops !

any advice is appreciated thx in advance !

hmm after further reading i think my wife will need both..

Test Fee (Academic / General Training): PHP 14,835
Test Fee (Life Skills): PHP 11,125

?

I don't think she would need an Academic IELTS. Academic IELTS is for those who will be taking up uni. or skilled work. She would only need a general for a spouse visa.

And don't worry, it's easy. How do I know? I have taken up an IELTS before. lol.

Hi thx for the reply.. so whats a general called is that the A1 ?

http://www.ielts.org/test_takers_information/ielts_in_the_uk/for_uk_visas_and_immigration.aspx

Here. Yes, it's the A1.

Ok thx, thats the exam they only hold 1x per mth, so she doesn't need the life skills as well ? her English is near perfect but she does get really kinda shy/nervous when out of her comfort zone, im hoping she can pause/replay the audio clips ?

I think she will still need one, since she'll be staying in the UK as your spouse for a long duration (permanent visa). And I think (correct me if I'm wrong anyone), it's a requirement for citizenship.

IELTS test you on four categories, in these order: listening, reading, writing and finally speaking. The first test is all about listening. There would be clips/recordings of various native English speakers acting out a certain skit. Mine was about real estate agents selling properties. But it varies. You will have to answer questions on a sheet of paper, based from the skits.

Second would be reading. You will be given a sheet of paper which lists various excerpts from articles, magazines, etc. Then you will have to answer questions based from what you have read.

The last test is speaking. It's a one-on-one sort of interview with an IELTS staff. He/she would ask you basic questions such as your name, occupation, hobbies, etc. After that, you will be given 2 mins. to talk incessantly about a certain topic. They would be recording every thing that you say.

Academic is a bit harder than general, but both are pretty much the same.

I suggest that your partner watch a lot of American, Australian, and British TV shows as those are the accents that will feature mostly in the listening test. She would have to be familiar with it. Also, tell her to read news clippings, articles, etc.

It's easy. And she only needs a 6 average in all categories to pass.

There are no reading or writing tests since the introduction of the UKVI Life Skills Test.

Your wife will only take the speaking and listening elements of the traditional IELTS test and the tests are restricted to 'secure' centres in Manila and Cebu with either the British Council or IDP. Her fingerprints will be taken, which can be cross-checked with her bioemtric passport and fingerprints taken at the TB test cantre.

So, your wife just needs the 'Life Skills' test - no other English Language test is acceptable. She will receive a 'PASS' or 'FAIL' - the results are not 'graded'.

Oh, so it's different now. Apologies jock. Better listen to Howerd. He has more experience with spouse visa requirements.

But good news for you then. Much easier for your wife to pass the test.

@knightstrike The UKVI Life Skills test came out about six months ago and my wife was one of the first to undergo the new test. It was very very difficult finding the info on the test and I found it impossible to book with the British Council due to website problems. Luckily I could book on the IDP site with little difficulty.

The Life Skills is more expensive. I assume that is because of the 'secure' requirement to take biometrics etc. There was also a lot of fraud with other approved tests and approved test centres - so they decided the test could only be taken with the British Council (a charity in the UK descended from a Foreign Office initiative of the 1920s) and the IDP. Both are joint owners of IELTS.

The Life Skills test is absolutely directed at UK Visa applicants as the reading and writing elements of the English Language test have been removed; their removal means the test is no longer recognised outside of a UK Visa application. If you need an English Language test for academic purposes, it is better to take the academic test as well.

My wife will be carrying her Life Skills test results in her hand luggage, along with her TB Certificate when she arrives in the UK, just so she can provide evidence that her 30 day vignette is not a forgery!

Thx for the info, so i take it she needs her passport 1st ? before she can apply for the life skills test ? as she only got her CFO paper in Cebu the other week..

She needs some identification of some sort, I cannot remember the exact requirements. The application should make it clear. I think my wife still used the passport in her maiden name when she applied, even though she will be travelling with a passport in her married name.

@jock_in_a_frock if your wife going to take IELTS ( A1) she need to bring her passport

thats the thing she doesn`t have her passport yet, she only got the paper the other week.. she has other ID`s i`ll need to look into what ID`s are accepted..

I'm going to ask a friend of mine who take the ielts Last August what ID she presented. I remember she don't have her passport too.

You seem very excited mate. I hope I catch some off it as it seems very contagious, but in a good way. You even have a countdown.

All the best!

Although Philippine government IDs are acceptable in taking IELTS, it would still be best to use your passport. As the results can also be seen online, once someone e.g. Home Office checks for the score reference number, at least the passport number reflects on it.

Mrs gorilla had to present her passport

Hi anne sorry if i ask u again would like to know if the rental agreement from the owner would be enough to support my accommodation and a letter because the owner of the flat is the one paying the bills and council tax. Thank u .

Have you got a letter from them that they are expecting you to stay with your partner? My then fiancé requested a letter from the landlord saying that I would be living here in our flat. Though my partner placed my name on the request, the landlord only put 'fiancée' on it which was totally fine when we submitted our visa application.