The UK’s English language requirements for migrants and refugees have undergone their most significant overhaul in a generation, with further changes still to come. A House of Commons Library research briefing, updated in June 2026, provides the clearest single summary of where things stand.
The changes flow from the May 2025 Immigration White Paper, Restoring Control Over the Immigration System, which proposed tightening English language thresholds across multiple visa routes. Several of those proposals have now become law.
From 8 January 2026, applicants for Skilled Worker, Scale-up and High Potential Individual visas must demonstrate B2-level English, broadly described as A-level standard, requiring the ability to express oneself fluently and spontaneously across professional, academic and social contexts. This replaces the previous B1 (intermediate) requirement and applies across all four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening.
The next significant threshold arrives in March 2027, when B2 will also be required for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) on various visa routes. This change has already been written into the immigration rules, though it does not come into force until then. It’s also not clear whether the test will be for all four language skills or the two tested at present at B1 level – speaking and listening. The government has also stated it is actively considering whether to extend the B2 standard more widely across additional routes.
There is a significant step up from B1 to B2 which potentially involves hundreds of hours of study for learners. See the SLC briefing on this for more details.
For family dependants, the picture is different. Proposals to require partners on work visas to demonstrate basic English at A1 level before entering the UK remain in development, with final decisions expected in autumn 2026. The ILR consultation — which drew over 200,000 responses — proposed making B2 a minimum requirement for settlement eligibility, alongside income thresholds and criminal record conditions.
Parliamentary scrutiny of these changes has been limited. Amendments to the immigration rules take effect automatically without a parliamentary vote, and while there have been non-binding debates in September 2025 and February and March 2026, no formal votes have been held.
What is clear is that the direction of travel is firmly upward. The English language bar for both entry and settlement is rising in stages, with more routes likely to follow. For those working in ESOL and English language provision, these are not abstract policy changes, rather they define the outcomes learners will increasingly need to reach.
An important exception to the B2 increase for ILR applies to British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa holders from Hong Kong. In a written statement to Parliament on 6 March 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed that the BN(O) route is not included in the scope of Statement of Changes HC 1691, which introduces the B2 requirement for most work, family and long-residence categories from March 2027.
BN(O) status holders and their dependants can therefore continue to qualify for ILR after five years with only a B1 certificate. The five-year pathway to ILR, followed by British citizenship eligibility after a further year, is also preserved under the earned settlement reform — providing significant reassurance to a community of over 166,000 current UK residents who arrived primarily after 2021.
However, the exemption is not guaranteed permanently. Immigration Minister Mike Tapp stated that the government is continuing to consider whether the B2 standard should be extended more widely, and that future decisions will take into account responses to the consultation on earned settlement. The door is not fully closed.
The Language of Change