Admin
2nd September 2004, 13:10
From 28th July 2004 you must satisy the following with your application;
APPLYING FOR NATURALISATION AS A BRITISH CITIZEN
THE NEED TO PROVE SUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
For many years, people applying to be naturalised as British citizens have needed to possess "sufficient knowledge" of either English, Scottish Gaelic, or Welsh. There are not many cases in which people claim British nationality by virtue of a knowledge of Welsh or Scottish Gaelic, but anyone who wishes to do so should consult the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for advice.
From 28 July 2004, the standard of knowledge of the English language which applicants for naturalisation will need has been defined as ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Entry 3. Very broadly speaking, at this level people are able to hold a conversation or get detailed information from a timetable (there is a more detailed description of ESOL Entry 3 at the end of this note).
There are a number of ways of proving that your English reaches Entry 3 or above. We do not want people to have to take special assessments where there is some easier way of proving their knowledge of the English language. We have, therefore, divided the rest of this guidance note up into sections, which will be relevant to different people according to their own particular circumstances.
Section 1 applies to people who already speak good English, and who have an educational qualification which could only have been obtained by someone who has good English.
Section 2 is for people who have been learning English as a second language, and who already hold a certificate of knowledge of the English language which they believe is of a standard as high as ESOL Entry 3.
Section 3 is for people who are learning English and believe that they have reached the ESOL Entry 3 standard, but do not have any certificate to show this.
Section 4 is for people who are clearly not yet at ESOL Entry 3 Level in English.
After 1 September 2004, we will add a fifth section which will be of help to people who are native English speakers but who do not have any educational certificate of the kind described in Section 1. Anyone in that situation may wish to postpone their application for naturalisation until after September 1. As an alternative, they may also follow the steps set out in Section 3 for people without certificates, but that procedure is primarily designed for people who are not native speakers of English.
SECTION 1
If you have an educational qualification which could only have been obtained by someone who speaks good English, we will accept this as proving that you meet the standard for naturalisation. This qualification might be, for instance, a GCSE or A level certificate or a degree or diploma from a University or Higher Education Institution, either in Britain or another English speaking country. We will also accept degrees or diplomas from Higher Education Institutions in non-English speaking countries where English is the language of instruction, provided that you send us a copy of documentation which proves that the course is conducted in English.
If you are applying from within the United Kingdom, you should send a copy of the certificate or diploma (not the original), with the rest of your application and your fee, to
Home Office IND
Managed Migration Directorate (Nationality Group)
Casework Support Unit
PO Box 12
LIVERPOOL
L69 2UX
If you are applying from the Isle of Man, you should send the copy certificate, with the rest of your application and your fee, to the Passport and Immigration Office in the Chief Secretary’s Office; if from Jersey, to The Passport Office; if from Guernsey, to The Immigration and Nationality Department; and if from any of the British Overseas Territories, to the territorial official who has responsibility for nationality applications.
If you are applying from a foreign or Commonwealth state, you should send the copy certificate, with the rest of your application and your fee, to a British Consular Officer.
SECTION 2
If you have been learning English as a second language, there are many different types of certificates which are issued to show the standard you have reached.
If you have an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) certificate at Entry 3 level, or any higher level (level 1, level 2, or level 3), or if you hold an alternative qualification for learners of English equivalent to or better than ESOL Entry 3, please send a copy of your certificate (not the original) with the rest of your application and your fee.
If you are applying from within the United Kingdom, this should be sent to:
Home Office
Managed Migration Directorate (Nationality Group)
Casework Support Unit
PO Box 12
LIVERPOOL
L69 2UX
If you are applying from the Isle of Man, you should send it to the Passport and Immigration Office within the Chief Secretary’s office; if from Jersey, to The Passport Office; if from Guernsey, to The Immigration and Nationality Department; and if from any of the British Overseas Territories, to the territorial official who has responsibility for naturalisation applications.
If you are applying from a foreign or Commonwealth state, you should send it to a British Consular Officer.
If you are not sure whether your English Language qualification meets the standard, you should write to Iain Ballard, Julie Brown or Harry Fewtrell, enclosing a copy of the certificate, at the above address.
SECTION 3
If you are learning English, and you think that you meet the ESOL Entry 3 standard (the ability to hold a conversation in English and to get detailed information from a timetable), but you do not hold any certificate, then you should undergo an Initial Assessment in ESOL. This will assess your level of English language and the person monitoring the assessment will be able to sign your forms if you demonstrate you are at Entry 3.
An ESOL Initial Assessment should be delivered by a suitably qualified teacher. You can find out more about undergoing an Initial Assessment from an ESOL provider. Try private language colleges, or FE colleges in your area. The number of providers making Initial Assessments available for these purposes will increase over the coming months. You are likely to be charged for the Initial Assessment, but this should be reasonable for the time you spend with the qualified teacher. If you are assessed as not yet at ESOL Entry 3 then the teacher will be able to suggest how to go about improving your English.
Once you have passed an Initial Assessment you should, if you are applying from within the United Kingdom, send the certificate from your assessment, together with your application form for naturalisation, your fee, and all other associated documents, to:
Home Office
Managed Migration Directorate (Nationality Group)
Casework Support Unit
PO Box 12
LIVERPOOL
L69 2UX
If you are applying from the Isle of Man, you should send this material to the Passport and Immigration Office within the Chief Secretary’s office; if from Jersey, to The Passport Office; if from Guernsey, to the Immigration and Nationality Department; and if from any of the British Overseas Territories, to the territorial official who has responsibility for nationality applications.
If you are applying from a foreign or Commonwealth state, you should send it to a British Consular Officer.
SECTION 4
If your English is clearly not yet at the standard of ESOL Entry 3, you will need to improve your English to apply for citizenship. You may want to do this by enrolling on an English language course in order to bring your skills up to ESOL Entry 3. Further Education Colleges normally offer English language courses which lead to ESOL qualifications. Some
groups of people are entitled to free lessons: you should ask the College whether you would have to pay. Or you may wish to attend a course at an English language school; if so, you should seek advice locally or look in your local telephone directory.
ESOL ENTRY 3: WHAT IT MEANS
As was mentioned at the beginning of this note, a person at ESOL Entry 3 is able to hold a conversation or obtain detailed information from a timetable. Below is a more detailed list of the language skills which are associated with ESOL Entry 3 :
• Listen and respond to spoken language, including straightforward information and narratives, and follow straightforward explanations and instructions, both face-to-face and on the telephone.
• Communicate orally information, feelings and opinions on familiar topics, using appropriate formality, both face-to-face and on the telephone.
• Engage in discussion with one or more people in a familiar situation, making relevant points and responding to what others say to reach a shared understanding about familiar topics.
• Read and understand short, straightforward texts on familiar topics accurately and independently.
• Read and obtain information from everyday sources.
• Communicate in writing information and opinions with some adaptation to the intended audience.
• Understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure etc.
• Deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling in an area where English is spoken.
• Produce simple connected texts on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.
• Describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
• Show competence in a limited range of tasks, performed in familiar work and social contexts.
• Have a repertoire equal to most routine language tasks and have sufficient grasp of grammar to cope with some non-routine tasks.
APPLYING FOR NATURALISATION AS A BRITISH CITIZEN
THE NEED TO PROVE SUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
For many years, people applying to be naturalised as British citizens have needed to possess "sufficient knowledge" of either English, Scottish Gaelic, or Welsh. There are not many cases in which people claim British nationality by virtue of a knowledge of Welsh or Scottish Gaelic, but anyone who wishes to do so should consult the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for advice.
From 28 July 2004, the standard of knowledge of the English language which applicants for naturalisation will need has been defined as ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Entry 3. Very broadly speaking, at this level people are able to hold a conversation or get detailed information from a timetable (there is a more detailed description of ESOL Entry 3 at the end of this note).
There are a number of ways of proving that your English reaches Entry 3 or above. We do not want people to have to take special assessments where there is some easier way of proving their knowledge of the English language. We have, therefore, divided the rest of this guidance note up into sections, which will be relevant to different people according to their own particular circumstances.
Section 1 applies to people who already speak good English, and who have an educational qualification which could only have been obtained by someone who has good English.
Section 2 is for people who have been learning English as a second language, and who already hold a certificate of knowledge of the English language which they believe is of a standard as high as ESOL Entry 3.
Section 3 is for people who are learning English and believe that they have reached the ESOL Entry 3 standard, but do not have any certificate to show this.
Section 4 is for people who are clearly not yet at ESOL Entry 3 Level in English.
After 1 September 2004, we will add a fifth section which will be of help to people who are native English speakers but who do not have any educational certificate of the kind described in Section 1. Anyone in that situation may wish to postpone their application for naturalisation until after September 1. As an alternative, they may also follow the steps set out in Section 3 for people without certificates, but that procedure is primarily designed for people who are not native speakers of English.
SECTION 1
If you have an educational qualification which could only have been obtained by someone who speaks good English, we will accept this as proving that you meet the standard for naturalisation. This qualification might be, for instance, a GCSE or A level certificate or a degree or diploma from a University or Higher Education Institution, either in Britain or another English speaking country. We will also accept degrees or diplomas from Higher Education Institutions in non-English speaking countries where English is the language of instruction, provided that you send us a copy of documentation which proves that the course is conducted in English.
If you are applying from within the United Kingdom, you should send a copy of the certificate or diploma (not the original), with the rest of your application and your fee, to
Home Office IND
Managed Migration Directorate (Nationality Group)
Casework Support Unit
PO Box 12
LIVERPOOL
L69 2UX
If you are applying from the Isle of Man, you should send the copy certificate, with the rest of your application and your fee, to the Passport and Immigration Office in the Chief Secretary’s Office; if from Jersey, to The Passport Office; if from Guernsey, to The Immigration and Nationality Department; and if from any of the British Overseas Territories, to the territorial official who has responsibility for nationality applications.
If you are applying from a foreign or Commonwealth state, you should send the copy certificate, with the rest of your application and your fee, to a British Consular Officer.
SECTION 2
If you have been learning English as a second language, there are many different types of certificates which are issued to show the standard you have reached.
If you have an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) certificate at Entry 3 level, or any higher level (level 1, level 2, or level 3), or if you hold an alternative qualification for learners of English equivalent to or better than ESOL Entry 3, please send a copy of your certificate (not the original) with the rest of your application and your fee.
If you are applying from within the United Kingdom, this should be sent to:
Home Office
Managed Migration Directorate (Nationality Group)
Casework Support Unit
PO Box 12
LIVERPOOL
L69 2UX
If you are applying from the Isle of Man, you should send it to the Passport and Immigration Office within the Chief Secretary’s office; if from Jersey, to The Passport Office; if from Guernsey, to The Immigration and Nationality Department; and if from any of the British Overseas Territories, to the territorial official who has responsibility for naturalisation applications.
If you are applying from a foreign or Commonwealth state, you should send it to a British Consular Officer.
If you are not sure whether your English Language qualification meets the standard, you should write to Iain Ballard, Julie Brown or Harry Fewtrell, enclosing a copy of the certificate, at the above address.
SECTION 3
If you are learning English, and you think that you meet the ESOL Entry 3 standard (the ability to hold a conversation in English and to get detailed information from a timetable), but you do not hold any certificate, then you should undergo an Initial Assessment in ESOL. This will assess your level of English language and the person monitoring the assessment will be able to sign your forms if you demonstrate you are at Entry 3.
An ESOL Initial Assessment should be delivered by a suitably qualified teacher. You can find out more about undergoing an Initial Assessment from an ESOL provider. Try private language colleges, or FE colleges in your area. The number of providers making Initial Assessments available for these purposes will increase over the coming months. You are likely to be charged for the Initial Assessment, but this should be reasonable for the time you spend with the qualified teacher. If you are assessed as not yet at ESOL Entry 3 then the teacher will be able to suggest how to go about improving your English.
Once you have passed an Initial Assessment you should, if you are applying from within the United Kingdom, send the certificate from your assessment, together with your application form for naturalisation, your fee, and all other associated documents, to:
Home Office
Managed Migration Directorate (Nationality Group)
Casework Support Unit
PO Box 12
LIVERPOOL
L69 2UX
If you are applying from the Isle of Man, you should send this material to the Passport and Immigration Office within the Chief Secretary’s office; if from Jersey, to The Passport Office; if from Guernsey, to the Immigration and Nationality Department; and if from any of the British Overseas Territories, to the territorial official who has responsibility for nationality applications.
If you are applying from a foreign or Commonwealth state, you should send it to a British Consular Officer.
SECTION 4
If your English is clearly not yet at the standard of ESOL Entry 3, you will need to improve your English to apply for citizenship. You may want to do this by enrolling on an English language course in order to bring your skills up to ESOL Entry 3. Further Education Colleges normally offer English language courses which lead to ESOL qualifications. Some
groups of people are entitled to free lessons: you should ask the College whether you would have to pay. Or you may wish to attend a course at an English language school; if so, you should seek advice locally or look in your local telephone directory.
ESOL ENTRY 3: WHAT IT MEANS
As was mentioned at the beginning of this note, a person at ESOL Entry 3 is able to hold a conversation or obtain detailed information from a timetable. Below is a more detailed list of the language skills which are associated with ESOL Entry 3 :
• Listen and respond to spoken language, including straightforward information and narratives, and follow straightforward explanations and instructions, both face-to-face and on the telephone.
• Communicate orally information, feelings and opinions on familiar topics, using appropriate formality, both face-to-face and on the telephone.
• Engage in discussion with one or more people in a familiar situation, making relevant points and responding to what others say to reach a shared understanding about familiar topics.
• Read and understand short, straightforward texts on familiar topics accurately and independently.
• Read and obtain information from everyday sources.
• Communicate in writing information and opinions with some adaptation to the intended audience.
• Understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure etc.
• Deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling in an area where English is spoken.
• Produce simple connected texts on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.
• Describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
• Show competence in a limited range of tasks, performed in familiar work and social contexts.
• Have a repertoire equal to most routine language tasks and have sufficient grasp of grammar to cope with some non-routine tasks.