Expired IELTS

[vyom2007]

Dear Friends I have a strange situation. I am in UK since 2004 and was on HSMP visa. I have got ILR and now I am planning to apply for citizenship. My IELTS is expired and was taken in India. I had never submitted IELTS ever in home office as a document for HSMP as it was never needed in my case. Can I use this as evidence of knowledge of English language. Thanks

[WR1]

According to the Home Office, in order to use an expired IELTS, it must meet one of the following options:

1. It has been used for a previous immigration application for example entry clearance.

2. If it is being presented for the first time, it was taken in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and is on the OFQUAL register.

It seems like that your case doesn't meet any of the two criteria above , so I doubt the UKVI will accept it.

When did you obtain your ILR. Was it before or after 28 October 2013?

[vyom2007]

ILR was granted in dec 2013.
Thanks

[waiz89k]

ILR was granted in dec 2013.
Thanks

How did u satisfy the English requirement on the time of ILR?

[WR1]

ILR was granted in dec 2013.
Thanks

I should have asked when you applied for ILR rather than when it was granted being so close to the date. If its taken say 3 months then you could have easily applied prior to 28 October 2013.

On 28 October 2013, it became a requirement to submit both English B1 and LIUK in order to obtain ILR. Prior to this date, only one was required and I assume you applied prior to 28 October 2013 submitting the LIUK only.

if that is the case, unless you have others ways of satisfying the English requirement such as a overseas degree taught in English, it looks like your only option is to do a English test on the current SELT list

[fasaal]

According to the Home Office, in order to use an expired IELTS, it must meet one of the following options:

1. It has been used for a previous immigration application for example entry clearance.

2. If it is being presented for the first time, it was taken in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and is on the OFQUAL register.

It seems like that your case doesn't meet any of the two criteria above , so I doubt the UKVI will accept it.

When did you obtain your ILR. Was it before or after 28 October 2013?

hiya WR1.
can u send me the link where HO mention the above 2 points plz? Thanks

[WR1]

I wrote to the Home Office for clarification last year as I have a expired IELTS not previously used and that is the reply I had received directly quoted from the letter, so had to do another ESOL.

The Home Office also have this documented in their Knowledge of Language and life in the UK version 17.0 updated on 6 May 2015 but with reference to ESOL, I think they use ESOL as a general term to include IELTS as ESOL itself does not have a expiry date:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _v17_0.pdf

Stated on page 30:

Validity dates of ESOL qualifications listed in Appendix O of the Immigration Rules, or on the OFQUAL register, will not be applied for settlement applications, provided either:
 the qualification has previously been accepted for another immigration application
 if it is being presented for the first time, that it was taken in:
o England and was regulated by OFQUAL
o Wales and was regulated by the Welsh government
o Northern Ireland and was regulated by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA)
o Scotland and was regulated by the SQA

Validity dates of SELT qualifications are not applicable to citizenship applications, as validity dates are not referred to in the regulations. However, qualifications taken in the UK must be have been regulated by OFQUAL, the Welsh government or CCEA, or if taken in Scotland, by the SQA.

[WR1]

what is interesting that I just noticed is that is states:

Validity dates of SELT qualifications are not applicable to citizenship applications, as validity dates are not referred to in the regulations.

The IELTS is still on the transitional list for the SELT and those qualifications are acceptable until 5 November 2015. So there is a possibility that the expired IELTS could be accepted for BC (but not settlement) even if taken outside the UK and not used previously, but I would confirm with the Home Office just to be sure.

[Hubba]

I wrote to the Home Office for clarification last year as I have a expired IELTS not previously used and that is the reply I had received directly quoted from the letter, so had to do another ESOL.

The Home Office also have this documented in their Knowledge of Language and life in the UK version 17.0 updated on 6 May 2015 but with reference to ESOL, I think they use ESOL as a general term to include IELTS as ESOL itself does not have a expiry date:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _v17_0.pdf

Stated on page 30:

Validity dates of ESOL qualifications listed in Appendix O of the Immigration Rules, or on the OFQUAL register, will not be applied for settlement applications, provided either:
 the qualification has previously been accepted for another immigration application
 if it is being presented for the first time, that it was taken in:
o England and was regulated by OFQUAL
o Wales and was regulated by the Welsh government
o Northern Ireland and was regulated by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA)
o Scotland and was regulated by the SQA

Validity dates of SELT qualifications are not applicable to citizenship applications, as validity dates are not referred to in the regulations. However, qualifications taken in the UK must be have been regulated by OFQUAL, the Welsh government or CCEA, or if taken in Scotland, by the SQA.

That's incorrect. I have also contacted the Home Office for clarification and expired qualifications are valid, regardless if they have been used before or awarded outside the UK.

Validity dates of ESOL qualifications listed in Appendix O of the Immigration Rules, or on the OFQUAL register, will not be applied for settlement applications, provided either:

For citizenship applications, any expired test within the list can be used, even if you haven't used on any other application.

https://www.gov.uk/english-language/app ... ifications

If your qualification’s expired

Some qualifications on the Home Office’s list will expire after 2 years. Your qualification will still be accepted as proof if you’re applying for citizenship, even after it’s expired.

If you’re applying to settle in the UK, your expired qualification may still be accepted as proof if it was one of the following:

• previously accepted by the Home Office in connection with another immigration application, eg entry clearance
• awarded in the UK and is on the Ofqual register
• You’ll need to have a certificate confirming your qualification or check that your online results can be viewed by UKVI.

tl;dr: Expired language qualifications can be used on citizenship applications even if expired, regardless if they have been used before or awarded outside the UK. For settlement purposes, the caveats above are applicable.

[fasaal]

Thank you very much Hubba for this great information.

[WR1]

I wrote to the Home Office for clarification last year as I have a expired IELTS not previously used and that is the reply I had received directly quoted from the letter, so had to do another ESOL.

The Home Office also have this documented in their Knowledge of Language and life in the UK version 17.0 updated on 6 May 2015 but with reference to ESOL, I think they use ESOL as a general term to include IELTS as ESOL itself does not have a expiry date:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _v17_0.pdf

Stated on page 30:

Validity dates of ESOL qualifications listed in Appendix O of the Immigration Rules, or on the OFQUAL register, will not be applied for settlement applications, provided either:
 the qualification has previously been accepted for another immigration application
 if it is being presented for the first time, that it was taken in:
o England and was regulated by OFQUAL
o Wales and was regulated by the Welsh government
o Northern Ireland and was regulated by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA)
o Scotland and was regulated by the SQA

Validity dates of SELT qualifications are not applicable to citizenship applications, as validity dates are not referred to in the regulations. However, qualifications taken in the UK must be have been regulated by OFQUAL, the Welsh government or CCEA, or if taken in Scotland, by the SQA.

That's incorrect. I have also contacted the Home Office for clarification and expired qualifications are valid, regardless if they have been used before or awarded outside the UK.

I suggest you re-read the above as the quote is directly from the Home Office document with the link provided before passing it off as incorrect.

Expiry dates do not apply to Citizenship applications but unless the conditions above are met, they will apply to Settlement applications and I have this in writing directly from the Home Office wit regards to IELTS.

[Hubba]

I wrote to the Home Office for clarification last year as I have a expired IELTS not previously used and that is the reply I had received directly quoted from the letter, so had to do another ESOL.

The Home Office also have this documented in their Knowledge of Language and life in the UK version 17.0 updated on 6 May 2015 but with reference to ESOL, I think they use ESOL as a general term to include IELTS as ESOL itself does not have a expiry date:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _v17_0.pdf

Stated on page 30:

Validity dates of ESOL qualifications listed in Appendix O of the Immigration Rules, or on the OFQUAL register, will not be applied for settlement applications, provided either:
 the qualification has previously been accepted for another immigration application
 if it is being presented for the first time, that it was taken in:
o England and was regulated by OFQUAL
o Wales and was regulated by the Welsh government
o Northern Ireland and was regulated by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA)
o Scotland and was regulated by the SQA

Validity dates of SELT qualifications are not applicable to citizenship applications, as validity dates are not referred to in the regulations. However, qualifications taken in the UK must be have been regulated by OFQUAL, the Welsh government or CCEA, or if taken in Scotland, by the SQA.

I suggest you re-read the above as the quote is directly from the Home Office document with the link provided before passing it off as incorrect.

Expiry dates do not apply to Citizenship applications but unless the conditions above are met, they will apply to Settlement applications and I have this in writing directly from the Home Office wit regards to IELTS.

But that's exactly the point I've made. For citizenship purposes, the validity dates are not applicable. The caveats you've listed are only applicable for settlement applications. The only information relevant in your quote is that if the qualification was taken in the UK, it must be have been regulated by OFQUAL, the Welsh government or CCEA, or if taken in Scotland, by the SQA (which the IELTS is). This requisite is for qualifications taken in the UK, but for qualifications taken outside the UK (an IELTS taken abroad, for instance) such requisite is moot.