ESOL - One Year Wait

[m0ntecarl0]

My wife came to the UK on May 27th as she is entitled to stay for 2 years on her spouse visa.

Now trying to get her signed up for an ESOL course but told she has to be in the UK for one year before she can enroll in classes.

What advise can anyone give on what I should do in the meantime...ie. courses?

As long as she is showing progression in English for ESOL and not reaching level 3, can she still get her Nationalisation in the UK followed by a UK passport?

Many thanks.

[m0ntecarl0]

My wife came to the UK on May 27th as she is entitled to stay for 2 years on her spouse visa.

Now trying to get her signed up for an ESOL course but told she has to be in the UK for one year before she can enroll in classes.

What advise can anyone give on what I should do in the meantime...ie. courses?

As long as she is showing progression in English for ESOL and not reaching level 3, can she still get her Nationalisation in the UK followed by a UK passport?

Many thanks.

[Saiyon]

Hi,

I am surprised your local college has said your wife has to be in the UK a year before she can attend an ESOL course. Our local college has no such requirement but you have to pay for the course, in our case two 15 week blocks at £360 per block. Altogether we paid £720 for 6 six hours a week for 30 weeks tuition.

Have you spoken to your local college about paying for the course? Maybe they are assuming you want the course for free. You really need to be enrolling your wife now for an ESOL course which will start in September/October, the new college year.

Before your wife starts an ESOL course the college should assess her standard of speaking and listening in English. This is needed so that she is put on an appropriate level of course and later to demonstrate that she has progressed by at least one level.

The ESOL course must include ‘Life in the UK’ and lead to an ESOL qualification and certificate.

Before you go for naturalisation your wife will need to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK towards the end of her current spouse visa. She needs the ESOL qualification for this and a letter from the college confirming her course covered ‘Life in the UK’ and she progressed by at least one level. At the lowest level of having no English to start with, your starting point is Pre Entry Level One and you would need to get an ESOL qualification at Entry Level One.

Do check this web site and the Border and Immigration Agency website at www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk for more information.

[John]

She needs the ESOL qualification for this and a letter from the college confirming her course covered ‘Life in the UK’ and she progressed by at least one level.

Well not necessarily. In order to get the ILR she will need to provide one of :-

• pass certificate from the Life in the UK Citizenship test, or
• completion certificate from a combined ESOL/Citizenship course

As long as she is showing progression in English for ESOL and not reaching level 3, can she still get her Nationalisation in the UK followed by a UK passport?

There is no question of her having to reach ESOL level 3. That is quite a high standard. Instead it is worth noting that the Citizenship Test is set at the much lower ESOL entry level 3, and as already said about the course, no particular level is needed. It "merely" needs to be shown she has progressed from one level to the next. For example, moving from ESOL entry level 1 to ESOL entry level 2 would be sufficicent.

[m0ntecarl0]

thanks Saiyon - they definately said she has to be in the UK for a year before she can attend classes. As the term finishes in a week or so the next opportunity wont be till September 2009, therefore only giving my wife 9 months to do an ESOL course
Was also advised by the college that she doesnt necessarily have to do Life in the UK test as long as she is showing progression over the months.
Again was advised easier for her to get accepted in the UK if her English isnt above Level 3 of ESOL therefore not having to take the test.
Is this true?

[m0ntecarl0]

college also said as it was government sponsered it would be free so will try and see if they will enrole her if I pay. thanks

[Saiyon]

Hi Chris,

Your wife does not have to take the ‘Life in the UK’ test. There are two ways to meet the English language and knowledge of life in the UK requirements. Either take the ‘Life in the UK’ test or go to a college and gain an ESOL qualification in Speaking and Listening supported by a letter from the college stating the course included knowledge of life in the UK and that your wife has progressed by at least one level.

I really do not think it can be true that your chances of getting accepted in the UK are easier if your wife’s English isn’t above level 3. If your wife’s English is already good enough to understand the questions in the ‘Life in the UK’ test- then read the book and learn the facts and take the test. If your wife’s English isn’t up to this then I would recommend the College Course leading to an ESOL qualification.

Our local college does seem on the ball. The rules changed this year on who can get free lessons. Our college tells us my wife cannot have free lessons until she has been in the UK three years and has already got Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).

When you talk about levels of qualifications be careful because Level 3 qualifications are of A level standard, Level 2 are of grades A-C GCSE standard, while Level 1 are of GCSE grades D-G standard. Below Level 1 is Entry Level and this has been divided into Entry Level 1, 2 and 3. For ESOL qualifications required for ILR the required levels are Entry Level 1, 2 or 3.

Best wishes

[Harvey at home]

Originally posted by John:

She needs the ESOL qualification for this and a letter from the college confirming her course covered ‘Life in the UK’ and she progressed by at least one level.

Well not necessarily. In order to get the ILR she will need to provide one of :-

• pass certificate from the Life in the UK Citizenship test, or
• completion certificate from a combined ESOL/Citizenship course

As long as she is showing progression in English for ESOL and not reaching level 3, can she still get her Nationalisation in the UK followed by a UK passport?

There is no question of her having to reach ESOL level 3. That is quite a high standard. Instead it is worth noting that the Citizenship Test is set at the much lower ESOL entry level 3, and as already said about the course, no particular level is needed. It "merely" needs to be shown she has progressed from one level to the next. For example, moving from ESOL entry level 1 to ESOL entry level 2 would be sufficicent.

Hello John and everyone

Could you clarify this.

If Wan had to go into a pre-entry ESOL class and then progressed to level 1,albeit had not completed level 1, Would that mean she had shown progress for the purpose of gaining ILR criteria?

Thanks for you help Harvey & Wan

[KhunIanB-UK]

That is what happened to Aom, she was graded as Pre-Entry Level when she started her ESOL with combined Citizenship course and then progressed to Entry Level 1. The letter from the College said progressed from Pre-Entry to Entry Level 1 and this was used for naturalisation without any problems. IMHO it is for this reason that anyone going for the "grading" for these course should not try to impress with their level of English as it would then be harder to progress

[m0ntecarl0]

thanks IanB - how long did it take Aom to progress from pre-entry to level 1?

we have just under 2 years to get my wife started and dont know if it doesnt look good that she would progress say in one years time?

one you applied for naturalisation does that then allow you to apply for a UK passport?

thanks

[Harvey at home]

Originally posted by IanB-UK:
That is what happened to Aom, she was graded as Pre-Entry Level when she started her ESOL with combined Citizenship course and then progressed to Entry Level 1. The letter from the College said progressed from Pre-Entry to Entry Level 1 and this was used for naturalisation without any problems. IMHO it is for this reason that anyone going for the "grading" for these course should not try to impress with their level of English as it would then be harder to progress

Hello Ian

Wan is going for the ESOL pre-entry course in September and this is for the ILR and not naturalisation.
Is there a difference?

Regards Harvey

[KhunIanB-UK]

Not when it comes to the course requirement, you just need to make sure you get the letter from the College with the progress and citizenship content confirmed, it can then be used for ILR and Citizenship (at least until the next rule changes that they might introduce )

[John]

Wan is going for the ESOL pre-entry course in September and this is for the ILR and not naturalisation.
Is there a difference?

No difference. She only needs to get the required certificate once, and she will need that to get ILR, so will not need to get it again for Naturalisation.

Do ensure that the course has Citizenship content, otherwise the needed completion certificate cannot be issued. That is, it is not just about her standard of English imrpoving, but also learning something about citizenship in the UK.

[Harvey at home]

Thanks for that John

regards Harvey