B2 English for UK Visas: Which Routes Need It
B2 is the level several UK routes now ask for, and the Home Office publishes exactly what it means on each approved test. This guide gives the published scores, and sets out which routes ask for B2 and which ask for less.
- Section
- Costs, English & General
- Reading time
- 8 min
- Last checked
- 3 September 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- B2 on IELTS for UKVI is 5.5 in each of listening, speaking, reading and writing. B1 is 4.0, C1 is 7.0, C2 is 8.5.
- The minimum applies to each component separately, not to an average.
- New Skilled Worker applications need B2; an extension of a visa held before 8 January 2026 needs B1.
- Settlement and citizenship need B1 in speaking and listening, rising to B2 for applications on or after 26 March 2027.
- A result must be from an approved test, taken at an approved centre, and awarded in the 2 years before the application date.
On the Home Office list of approved tests, B2 on IELTS for UKVI is 5.5 in each of the four components. Skilled Worker has been B2 for new applications since 8 January 2026; study at degree level is B2; settlement and citizenship are B1 until 26 March 2027; the family route starts at A1. GOV.UK publishes no price for any approved test.
What B2 means on the approved test list
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages runs from A1 to C2. The Home Office publishes a list of approved secure English language tests that pins each level to a grade on each test. For IELTS for UKVI — the version of the test approved for UK Visas and Immigration purposes — the published minimums are:
- B1: 4.0 in listening, speaking, reading and writing
- B2: 5.5 in listening, speaking, reading and writing
- C1: 7.0 in each of the four
- C2: 8.5 in each of the four
The list gives a minimum for each component. An overall band average does not meet the requirement if one component is below the minimum. There are no other numbers between these on the list: the Home Office publishes a threshold, not a range.
Other approved tests carry their own numbers at the same levels. At B2, for example, the list gives 59 in each component for PTE Academic UKVI, 60 in each for LanguageCert Academic or General SELT, a pass in each for Trinity College London's Integrated Skills in English II, and a pass in each for Skills for English UKVI B2.
Which routes ask for which level
This is where most of the confusion sits, because the levels differ by route and two of them are changing on named dates.
- Skilled Worker: GOV.UK says you must prove you can read, write, speak and understand English to at least B2. If you held the visa before 8 January 2026 and are extending or updating it, the level is B1 and you do not need to prove it again. If you are switching from a different visa, it is B2.
- Student: GOV.UK publishes a two-row table — B2 for study at degree level or above, B1 for study below degree level.
- Settlement and citizenship: a speaking and listening test at B1. Appendix KoLL of the Immigration Rules raises this to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027, and GOV.UK accepts a qualification at B1, B2, C1 or C2 for the current requirement.
- Family visa as a partner or parent: A1 for the first application, and A2 in speaking and listening when you extend after 2.5 years. GOV.UK notes that if you pass B1 or higher first time, you can reuse that result at settlement.
The routes that need a four-component test at all are listed on GOV.UK: Health and Care Worker, High Potential Individual, Innovator Founder, Minister of Religion, Scale-up Worker, Skilled Worker, Start-up and Student. Citizenship, settlement, International Sportsperson, parent, partner and Representative of an Overseas Business need a speaking and listening test only. Our route-by-route guide goes through them.
Which IELTS to book
The approved list names IELTS for UKVI and IELTS Life Skills. An ordinary IELTS test is not on it, and a result from one cannot be used, however good the band.
- IELTS for UKVI is the four-component test, and is the one that appears on the list at B1, B2, C1 and C2. The list does not distinguish between the Academic and General Training versions: it names "IELTS for UKVI" and gives one set of minimums.
- IELTS Life Skills appears only at A1, A2 and B1, and only for speaking and listening. It is the test that fits the family route and the current settlement and citizenship requirement. It cannot meet a B2 requirement, because there is no B2 IELTS Life Skills on the list.
GOV.UK says plainly that it is for you to decide which test to take, and that you should make sure the test you book is the one approved as a secure English language test. Our accepted tests guide lists the alternatives, and how to book a test covers the booking itself.
The three conditions a result has to meet
GOV.UK sets out all three together. Your test must:
- be on the list of approved English language tests
- have been sat at an approved test location
- have been awarded in the two years before the date of your application
Where two or more components are examined and awarded together, you must show you reached the required score in all the relevant components with the same test centre provider. GOV.UK adds that in certain circumstances you may be allowed to resit a single failed component, and that this depends on the provider's own terms and conditions.
Which providers you can use depends on where you are. Inside the UK: Trinity College London, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert and Pearson. Outside the UK: PSI Services (UK) Ltd, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert and Pearson.
A test your university accepts is not automatically approved
This catches people out. GOV.UK says that if you are studying at degree level or above, your higher education provider can assess your level of English itself, and may ask you to do a different test — but that test must still be equivalent to B2. That permission belongs to the university, for its own admissions purposes. It does not turn the test into an approved secure English language test for any other route.
GOV.UK also lists ways to meet the requirement without any test at all: a GCSE, A level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, or Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English begun at a UK school under the age of 18; a degree taught in English and awarded by a UK institution; or a degree from outside the UK taught in English, assessed by Ecctis. See our exemptions guide, which also covers nationals of the countries and territories GOV.UK names.
What a test costs
GOV.UK publishes no price for any secure English language test. The fee is set by the provider, varies by country and by test, and appears on the provider's booking page. Any figure quoted elsewhere is that provider's price at some past date, not a government one.
The gap between B1 and B2
On the approved list the step is 4.0 to 5.5 in every component on IELTS for UKVI, and 43 to 59 in every component on PTE Academic UKVI. In the framework's own terms, B2 is the level at which a reader can follow the main ideas of complex text, hold a conversation with a fluent speaker without strain on either side, and write clearly on a range of subjects.
For a side-by-side comparison see our B1 and B2 guide, and for classes in the UK, English classes for adults.
Related guides:
Questions and answers
What IELTS score is B2 for UK visas?
The Home Office list of approved secure English language tests sets B2 on IELTS for UKVI at 5.5 in each of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The same list sets B1 at 4.0 in each component, C1 at 7.0 and C2 at 8.5. The requirement is a minimum in every component, not an average.
Which routes need B2 rather than B1?
GOV.UK sets B2 for a new Skilled Worker application, and for study at degree level or above. It sets B1 for study below degree level, and for an extension of a Skilled Worker visa held before 8 January 2026. Settlement and citizenship are B1 in speaking and listening, rising to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027 under Appendix KoLL of the Immigration Rules. A family visa as a partner is A1 for the first application and A2 at the extension after 2.5 years.
Is IELTS Life Skills accepted for the B2 requirement?
No. On the approved list, IELTS Life Skills appears only at A1, A2 and B1, and only as a speaking and listening test. There is no B2 IELTS Life Skills. For B2 you need a four-component test such as IELTS for UKVI.
How long is a test result valid for a UK application?
GOV.UK says the test must have been awarded in the two years before the date of your application, taken at an approved test location, and be on the list of approved English language tests. All three have to be true.
How much does a secure English language test cost?
GOV.UK does not publish a price for any of them. The fee is set by the test provider, so the provider's own booking page is the only place to find it.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.