Who Is Exempt from the Life in the UK Test?

Overview of Exemptions

The Life in the UK test is required for most people applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or British citizenship. However, certain groups are exempt. The exemptions are listed on the Life in the UK Test pages on GOV.UK and set out in the Immigration Rules, Appendix KoLL.

There are three main categories of exemption: age-based (under 18, or 65 and over), condition-based, and the fact that a previous pass still counts. We will cover each in detail.

Separately, some settlement applications are outside the knowledge of language and life requirement altogether. The Home Office caseworker guidance lists, among others, people applying for settlement as a refugee, on the basis of humanitarian protection, on the basis of discretionary leave, or as a stateless person; adult dependent relatives under Appendix FM even where they are aged 18 to 64; bereaved partners of British citizens or settled people; victims of domestic violence; retired people of independent means; and Commonwealth citizens on discharge from the armed forces. If one of those describes your application, the test does not apply to it at all.

Age Exemption: Under 18

If you are under 18 at the date of your application for ILR or citizenship, you are exempt from the Life in the UK test. The Home Office guidance says anyone claiming an age exemption must provide evidence of their age: a passport, a birth certificate, or (for citizenship applications) a European Economic Area identity card.

This exemption makes sense because the test is designed for adult applicants. Children applying for ILR (for example, as dependants of a parent) do not need to take it.

The rule is read at the date of application. An application made before an 18th birthday falls inside the exemption; one made after it does not. If the test does apply, see our study guide.

Age Exemption: 65 and Over

If you are aged 65 or over at the date of your application, you are exempt from both the Life in the UK test and the English language requirement. Again, evidence of your date of birth is what is needed.

For citizenship, the Home Office guidance treats this as a discretion that caseworkers must exercise: where the applicant is 65 or over the requirement must be waived. It also says that where an applicant is aged 60 to 64, the requirement should normally be waived if the time needed to reach the required standard would mean they were 65 or over by then. Below 60, the guidance says age alone is not normally a reason to waive it.

Disability Exemption

You may be exempt from the Life in the UK test if you have a long-term physical or mental condition that prevents you from taking the test or preparing for it. This is not automatic. You must provide medical evidence.

Conditions That May Qualify

The Home Office does not publish a list of qualifying conditions. Its caseworker guidance instead tells staff they must waive the requirement where the applicant:

• is suffering from a long-term illness or disability that severely restricts their ability to learn English or prepare for the Life in the UK test
• has a mental condition which prevents them from speaking or learning English to the required standard

The same guidance gives examples of where a waiver may be appropriate: an applicant who is deaf, an applicant without speech, or an applicant with a speech impediment that limits their ability to communicate in the relevant language. It adds that each application is considered on its own merits.

Having a disability does not by itself mean the requirement is waived. The guidance points out that test centres and many colleges can cater for a variety of disabilities, such as blindness, and that an applicant may be able to take the test even where they produce evidence of a disability.

The guidance also says the two parts of the requirement are looked at separately: a condition may make it unreasonable to expect someone to prepare for and sit the Life in the UK test while they can still meet the English language requirement, which is assessed differently.

Medical Evidence Required

The published route is a form, not a free-form letter. The Home Office guidance says the applicant must provide a completed medical waiver form (it calls this a "proforma"), filled in by a doctor, confirming the physical or mental condition. GOV.UK publishes it as Knowledge of language and Life in the UK Test exemption: long term physical or mental condition. All original and current medical reports setting out the diagnosis should be sent with it.

The GOV.UK booking page puts it slightly more loosely, saying you must provide "either an exemption form or a letter from a doctor confirming your physical or mental condition".

Where a request for an exemption arrives without the completed form, the guidance tells caseworkers to give the applicant the opportunity to provide it, unless the application falls to be refused on another ground. For some older or simplified-route applications, the guidance says caseworkers cannot insist on the form and must weigh whatever medical evidence was sent.

How to Claim an Exemption

Claiming an exemption depends on the type:

Age Exemptions

The application form has a section for the Life in the UK test where an exemption can be indicated. The Home Office guidance says evidence of age must be provided in support: a passport, a birth certificate, or (for citizenship) a European Economic Area identity card.

Condition Exemptions

GOV.UK says the completed exemption form should be included with the application form, together with the original, current medical reports setting out the diagnosis. In the Life in the UK test section of the application form, indicate that an exemption is being claimed on medical grounds.

The Home Office guidance also states that an exemption granted on medical grounds for a settlement application does not carry over: a separate exemption request has to be made for a later citizenship application.

Previous Pass: No Need to Retake

GOV.UK lists "have passed it before" among the reasons you do not need to take the test, giving the example of someone applying to become a citizen who already passed it as part of their settlement application. GOV.UK sets no expiry date on a pass.

When you pass, you get a "unique reference number". You need that number to complete the citizenship or settlement application, and the Home Office uses it to check that you passed. Anyone who took the test before 17 December 2019 has a letter with a "test reference ID" instead. GOV.UK says that if you have lost that letter, you should send a letter explaining that you have lost it with your citizenship or settlement application.

This is not technically an "exemption" but it means you do not need to take the test again. For more on the test itself, see our complete Life in the UK test guide.

The English Language Requirement

The Life in the UK test exemption and the English language requirement exemption are related but separate. Here is how they interact:

• Age exemption (under 18, or 65 and over): Covers both the Life in the UK test and the English language requirement for settlement.
• Condition exemption: May cover both, but the two are considered separately. The guidance says evidence that someone cannot satisfy one part does not automatically mean they cannot satisfy the other.
• Nationals of the countries GOV.UK lists as majority English-speaking: Do not have to prove knowledge of English, but still take the Life in the UK test.

The English language requirement is also lifted for a set of settlement applications listed on GOV.UK, including refugees living in the UK, people with humanitarian protection or discretionary leave, bereaved partners, victims of domestic violence, adult dependent relatives aged 18 to 64, and people settling on certain work visas who already proved their English when they applied for their current permission.

For more on English language requirements, see our guides on B1 vs B2 English and accepted English tests.

What If Your Exemption Is Refused?

The Home Office guidance says that where an exemption request is not accepted, any refusal must make clear that the applicant does not meet the language or Life in the UK requirements and has not provided the specified evidence to be considered for a waiver.

Two points from the published guidance are worth knowing:

• Where the medical waiver form is missing, caseworkers are told to give the applicant the opportunity to send it, unless the application falls to be refused on another ground.
• Test centres can cater for a range of disabilities, and GOV.UK says special requests, such as extra equipment or help accessing the centre, can be made when booking. The guidance treats the availability of those adjustments as relevant to whether a waiver is appropriate.

Where an application is refused, an administrative review may be available. Advice on an individual application is regulated work: it can be given by a solicitor or by an adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority. Our guide to immigration solicitor costs sets out what that typically costs.

Summary: Do I Need to Take the Test?

• Under 18: No. You are exempt.
• Aged 65 or over: No. You are exempt from both the test and the English language requirement.
• Long-term physical or mental condition: Possibly. A medical waiver form completed by a doctor, or a doctor's letter, is needed, with current medical reports.
• Already passed: No. GOV.UK sets no expiry date on a pass.
• Settling as a refugee or with humanitarian protection: No. Those routes are outside the requirement.
• Everyone else: Yes. You must pass the Life in the UK test before applying for ILR or citizenship. See our booking guide to schedule your test.

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