Lost Certificates and new English Language Requirement

[atucker]

Hi there people, a couple of queries. Apologies for the long post.

My wife applied for a spouse visa last year however certain original documents were not returned to her (even though we provided a complete folder with copies of all original documents that were sent) very annoying!

One of the documents was her English language certificate:

ESOL Skills for Life - Level Certificate (Entry 2)

This included reading, writing as well as speaking and listening.

Now many of you will be aware the requirements are set to change thanks to the following wonderful document:

"This statement of intent sets out the changes which will take place on 28 October 2013.

These changes relate to the requirement to:

pass the Life in the UK test
have a speaking and listening qualification in English"

The suggested level is of CEFR B1.

The test my wife took was Entry 2 which does not seem to be equivalent to the B1 level. Going from the levels here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Eur ... _Languages

In the Statement of Intent it does state that

"Qualifications in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at Entry level 3, Level 1 or
Level 2, that include speaking and listening and that have been regulated by the Office of
Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). The qualification must be listed as an ESOL
qualification on the Ofqual Register of Regulated Qualifications and have been taken in England,
Wales or Northern Ireland. The Ofqual register is available at: http://register.ofqual.gov.uk/2"

So already we have a contradictory requirement - Entry Level 3, or 1 and 2 with Speaking and listening is apparently allowed.

Finally as the original certificates were not returned the only thing Cambridge will do is issue a certifying statement, does anyone know if these are accepted by the UK Border Agency?

Many thanks for any comments or help people can give me.

Cheers

[Sahib]

Very sorry to say i don't know the answer to your query, i hope someone will reply to you.

I want to say thanks for sharing very useful links i was looking for, my dependant need to pass the test and i don't know where to start i.e. which colleague/institue i need to register in order to start preparation for the exam. The links you submitted are helpful finding some ways.

Please let me know if you know more as where to start / where to go to start preparation for the test? Is there any books available like LIUK test? If yes, what is/are the name(s) of the book(s)? Will the exam be online or candidate need to go to institue/centre where he/she need to sit in exam like LIUK test?

[loveworld]

First of all when UKBA did not returned your docs at that time did u write to UKBA about this. If yes then no problem.

You have to mention everything on letter explaining whole situation.

Should be ok