News

Cambridge ESOL Skills for life accepted by UKBA for student visas

09 November 2010

Cambridge ESOL's Skills for Life has been added to the list of language tests approved by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) under new arrangements for student visas.

Since August this year, certain groups of students from non-EU countries wanting to study in the UK for more than six months have needed to prove that their English is at Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) Level B1 or above, using a UKBA-approved secure language test. ESOL Skills for Life (Levels Entry 3 and above) becomes the 11th Cambridge English test from Cambridge ESOL included on the current approved list of 13.

Cambridge says this news follows a trend which is seeing language testing being used for a whole host of high stakes purposes such as immigration, career development and education.

Lee Knapp, Cambridge ESOL's Development Manager UK says:

“This is excellent news and shows that the UKBA have recognised the importance of secure and reliable language testing for immigration purposes. We have developed a range of tests that meet the Government's strict criteria which reflects our commitment to offering candidates a choice of qualifications that meet their specific needs.”

Notes

The full list of Cambridge English tests from Cambridge ESOL recognised for Tier 4 student visas is:

Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)
Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)
First Certificate in English (FCE)
Preliminary English Test (PET)
IELTS (Band 4.0 and above)
Business English Certificate Higher (BEC Higher)
Business English Certificate Vantage (BEC Vantage)
Business English Certificate Preliminary (BEC Preliminary)
International Certificate in Financial English (ICFE)
International Legal English Certificate (ILEC)
ESOL Skills for Life (Levels Entry 3 and above)

For more information, visit http://www.cambridgeesol.org/info/uk-immigration/tier4.html