Migrants told they will need A-level standard English to move to UK in huge new changes

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2121142/Migrants-Labour-English-language-changes-workers-foreign-firms

Posted by daily_express

31 comments

  1. The government evidently has never heard of IELTS exams.

    That, or they’re pandering to morons who couldn’t pass an IELTS exam.

    I *wonder* which it could be.

  3. I mean I got here in 2017 with an 8 IELTS score…no idea why they lowered it down tbh

  4. Curious if asylum seekers are exempt on humanitarian grounds? If so, this would only really impact eg those on work, spouse, or student visas – still a great start! 

  5. Oi! Don’t you leave this beach until I’ve seen 2000 words on the impact the daughters of King Lear had on his fall from grace and it’s impact on gender politics of the late 20th century.

  6. Yep, nothing will better endear the UK population to migrants than being outclassed by their standard of English!

  7. Will my English be tested when i come back from holiday?? I hope not!

  8. I only got a c grade at gcse, which took a 2nd try. Does that mean I should be deported?

  9. What does it mean to have A-level standard English? For example, what percentage of the England men’s football team speak to this standard, and where is the cut-off point? Does Cole Palmer qualify (for example).

  11. Should have been the rule from day one. Doesn’t make sense to move to England with no command of English. Crazy if you think about it.

  12. This is a great idea but unfortunately is only a requirement for legal migrants. Those who arrive illegally do not have to comply with anything at all

  13. Ha, half the population born here don’t have anywhere close to A-Level standard English. The amount of people using could of or would of drives me insane and that’s primary school level.

  14. The formal English language requirement has been in place for years:

    [https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/knowledge-of-english](https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/knowledge-of-english)

    Immigrants aiming for a work permit in the skilled migrant category need to have formal English qualifications if they are not from an English speaking country. B1 level at least in the CEFR, and only valid tests are government-approved tests.

    I don’t really understand politicians, do they even know what the current immigration law is or how they are implemented? It’s like when Farage was talking about implementing a point style system “like in Australia”. Lol there’s been a point system in the UK for ages now too.

    It feels like they have no clue about what they are talking about. Or they are being disingenuous, telling their voters they are planning to implement something that’s already in place, so that they could claim they did it in record time a few months after they’ve been elected.

  15. Most of the Chinese students at the university I work at have the equivalent qualification… the thing is a lot can’t speak a word, and I suspect they had some help with their homework. 

  16. An immigrant needs a greater grasp of the English language than 90% of its inhabitants? Interesting move

  17. Hahahaha. The average Brit has a reading level equivalent to that of an 8-year-old… Can we boot them out…

  18. Plenty of native Brits don’t even have A-Level standard English

  19. Most of the flag-shagging roundabout painters failed GCSE English, can we get rid of them too? One in, one out.

  20. What exactly does “A Level English” correspond to in CEFR terms?

  21. A level English is not a test of English as a second language. This story is clearly rubbish. The standardly used standard for second languages is the CEFR.

  23. According to another article, a-level is equivalent to B2, which is definitely not hard.

  24. This is an A level standard in the CEFR scale which is unrelated to the British education certification “A Level”.
    Currently they are required to understand English at B standard level.

  25. Did they translate that requirements into any languages other than English? 🙂

  26. I couldn’t imagine moving to another country without learning its language at a basic living standard, why this isn’t already a thing here is crazy.

  28. When I moved here from Italy I had to pass a IELTS exam with high grades to be allowed to move, it’s very weird they ever changed it.

    The amount of people I interact with daily that can barely understand a word of english isn’t exactly a great example for the UK’s immigration system.

  29. Maybe they can come to the UK and teach many of our less well educated people English and thinking skills… actually on reflection maybe we can do a straight swap! Higher IQ / educated people in …

  30. What percent of recent migrant visas would’ve been denied if this standard was in place? 

  31. Surely this makes them overqualified compared to the general populace

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