English Language Test Certificates for UK Visas, Settlement and University: Which Tests Count and What Needs Translating

The Home Office does not want your test certificate. Its SELT guidance says: "You do not need to submit any documents as part of the immigration or nationality application." What it wants is a reference number, and "If you do not include your reference number, your application may be refused."

That surprises people who have just paid for a notarised copy of an IELTS result. It surprises others in the opposite direction: a degree taught in English can replace a test, but only after Ecctis has checked it, and Ecctis does want documents, translated.

This guide covers which tests count in October 2026, the level each application needs, the scores, when a degree replaces a test, exemptions, university rules and what actually needs translating.

Which English tests does the Home Office accept?

Only SELTs from five approved providers, and the providers differ inside and outside the UK:

The tests themselves are named products: "IELTS for UKVI" or "IELTS Life Skills"; LANGUAGECERT International ESOL SELT, Academic SELT or General SELT; "PTE Academic UKVI" or "PTE Home"; PSI's "Skills for English UKVI"; and Trinity's Integrated Skills in English (ISE) or Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE). From 6 July 2025, LANGUAGECERT's 4-skills ESOL SELT was replaced by its Academic and General SELTs; older results stay valid for 2 years.

Three conditions apply to every result. The test must "be on the list of approved English language tests", "have been sat at an approved test location" and "have been awarded in the two years before the date of your application". Book in the name on your passport: GOV.UK says the booking details "must be the same as on your passport or other identity document."

What English level does each application need?

The B2 rule for work routes came from statement of changes HC 1333. The settlement rise comes from HC 1691, which the Home Office says will apply "to those already on a pathway to settlement", including Skilled Worker and Scale-up settlement applicants. See indefinite leave to remain documents.

What scores count as A1, B1 or B2?

The Home Office's list of approved tests sets minimum results in each component:

Do SELT certificates need translating or certifying?

No. Results are issued in English and checked through each provider's online verification system, so a SELT needs no translation, certified copy, notarisation or apostille. After you pass, you get a SELT unique reference number, printed on the result as:

• "UER" for Trinity College London;
• "UKVI number" for the IELTS SELT Consortium;
• "Candidate URN" for LANGUAGECERT;
• "SELT URN" for Pearson;
• "URN" for PSI Skills for English.

For a Student visa, the sponsor puts "the name of the test provider, the unique reference number for the test and the score for each component" on your CAS (Appendix Student, ST 13.4). A certified copy is different from a certified translation: GOV.UK describes a certified copy as one signed by a professional person stating it is a true copy of the original. Neither is needed for a SELT.

When can a degree replace an English test?

When it was taught or researched in English and meets the standard of a UK bachelor's degree or higher. Appendix English Language accepts a UK degree, or a degree taught in a majority-English-speaking country (except Canada) or Ireland, or any qualification at that level "taught or researched in English" (EL 5.2).

For a degree awarded outside the UK you need two things: the certificate, a transcript or an official letter from the university (EL 5.3), and confirmation from "the qualification and language assessments provider" (EL 5.4), which GOV.UK names as Ecctis. Ecctis's English Proficiency and Qualification Comparison costs £210, aims for an outcome within 20 working days, and gives you a Unique Person Identifier (UPI) code to share with the Home Office.

Ecctis asks you to upload:

• final certificates issued by the awarding institution;
• official transcripts "signed, stamped and dated";
• "certified translations, if your documents are not in English";
• a Medium of Instruction (MoI) letter from the awarding institution "confirming the languages used during your study";
• your passport or ID, and evidence of any name change, such as a marriage certificate.

Ecctis links "certified translations" to GOV.UK's definition: the translator confirms it is a "true and accurate translation of the original document", with the date and their full name and contact details. If the university does not verify your degree in time, the outcome is "Unable to verify". Our academic transcript guide covers how a transcript translation should look.

Who does not need to prove their English?

Nationals of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British overseas territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA. Ireland is added for citizenship only. GOV.UK is blunt about everyone else: "If you're from a country that's not on the list you'll need to prove your knowledge of English, even if English is an official language."

Other exemptions depend on the application. Settlement applicants are exempt at 65 or over, under 18, or with a condition that prevents them meeting the requirement; for citizenship and settlement, GOV.UK asks for a doctor's exemption form with "original copies of current relevant medical reports". Medical reports in another language need a certified translation, which for settlement, an application made in the UK, must meet paragraph 39B(f) in full, including certification by a qualified translator and the translator's or company's credentials. If you met the requirement at the level now required in an earlier successful application, you need not prove it again (EL 3.1).

What do UK universities accept?

Their own list, which can be wider than the Home Office's. For degree-level courses, a university with a track record of compliance can assess your English itself and state on the CAS how it did so (EL 8.1). That is why a university may accept tests that are not SELTs. The University of Edinburgh, for example, accepts IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT, the Oxford Test of English Advanced and Cambridge C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency, and treats IELTS General and IELTS Life Skills as unacceptable.

Universities also set their own translation rules. Edinburgh's postgraduate admissions accept certified translations only from the awarding institution, "a sworn translator (this would be a translator sworn before a court in a non-UK jurisdiction)" or a Fellow or Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting. A standard certified translation, ours included, does not meet a rule like this, so where a university names translators, use one who does. See the Student visa documents guide.

Why English language evidence gets refused

• No reference number on the application.
• The wrong IELTS: IELTS Academic instead of IELTS for UKVI where a SELT is required.
• A result more than 2 years old on the date of application.
• A B1 result after 8 January 2026 for a first Skilled Worker visa.
• A foreign degree without an Ecctis UPI code, or an Ecctis application with untranslated documents.
• Assuming an English-speaking country is exempt when it is not on the list.
• A booking name that differs from the passport.

Checklist: English language evidence

Questions people ask