smashcut

I'm a British citizen moving back to the UK with my (Japanese) wife and dual national son. Thanks to the great advice here we managed to get my wife a Settlement Spouse CP/KOL-REQ visa which arrived today, as we've been married for longer than four years outside of the UK and meet all of the other requirements.

Now we're looking at the next stage, applying for ILR (either with SET-M or SET (O) as someone else recommended on this forum. The problem I'm finding now is that on both forms they request specific language requirements to be met for my wife that are different to those that were required for the visa she was granted two days ago... In short, she needed to have passed one of the accredited English language qualifications to A1 level or above, and has done so. But, looking at SET-M and SET (O) they both insist that she needs to have taken an accredited course with a citizenship component, or else provide evidence that she's taken an OFQUAL endorsed test to ESOL Entry (looks like this maps to B1 European framework, which her TOEIC score doesn't quite reach). It seems odd, because if she'd somehow taken the KOL previously she'd have ILE. I think it might be something to do with the changes in the system that come in this month, which will then require a B1 language result, so it's really a question of whether we need to qualify for the "old" or "new" settlement regulations with her KOL-REQ visa...

So my question (finally!) is, given that she has already met ILE/ILR but for the Knowledge of Life test, will she now need to also take further language exams to meet the requirements of these forms, or is there a way we can present the fact that we have a KOL-REQ and have met all criteria for settlement short of the KOL test? As others have said, the UKBA don't really make this clear anywhere. I've seen a lot of information for English speakers, but haven't so far found anything on whether this will be a blocker or not.

Thanks in advance for any help!

roaringmouse

What the form says about this is: (22b on the SET(M) Guidance Notes)

It's either the Life in the UK test, or the ESOL with citizenship course that needs to be taken. If your wife is taking the Life in the UK test then the ESOL with citizenship component is irrelevant to your wifes application.

smashcut

roaringmouse, thanks so much. I think in the daze of the last few weeks of getting prepared to apply for the visa I'm starting to see problems where there aren't any! Really appreciate your time!

Red-Sea-Angel

Congratulations on the visa

I'm not sure how soon you are thinking of travelling or if your wife has been studying for the KOL test, but I just read yesterday that Theresa May is planning changes to the test "in the Autumn".........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18662531

My husband was recently granted the same visa as your wife, and now we have our tickets booked he's been reading through the KOL books and practise questions. We are planning on him doing the test within a couple of weeks of our arrival in the UK (long enough to get something with his UK address on) and then applying for ILR straight away, in an effort to get all of the visa related stuff over and done with!

I was unsure about which form he should use for ILR since SET(M) states clearly at the beginning that there must be evidence of 2 years co-habiting. However, as you know the visa 'settlement - KOL req' doesn't require him to wait 2 years to apply.... I had thought about SET(O) and the category of 'other'. But I have since been told that SET(M) is the correct form.

One other thing, regarding the necessary supporting documents for ILR: since the only thing preventing ILE from being granted was the absence of KOL, I am now wondering if the KOL pass letter is all the evidence he will need to show when he applies for ILR ....any thoughts?? Saying that, we'll probably take the same folder of documents we gave when applying for the settlement visa, assuming I can ever get a PEO appointment!!

Best of luck.

smashcut

Thanks! Looks like Theresa May returns to add a bit more stress to the transcontinental move with these test revisions, as we aren't due to arrive until September, so hard to know what my wife should even study for at this point if they're about to change it all. It sounds like you're doing the right thing by getting it over with sooner rather than later.

I only mentioned the SET (O) after seeing this thread but most threads I've seen seem to suggest the SET-M, as you say, so that's good to know. Neither seem like a particularly great fit for this case, but there you go!

I'm afraid I'm as in the dark as you are with regards to what to present/disregard with the SET-M supporting docs, but elsewhere on this forum people have suggested that you should go with the same docs that you used to get the visa, as you mention, along with a cover letter. Good luck with it!