Migrants will need A-level standard English to work in UK

Some immigrants arriving in the UK will need to speak English at A level under stricter new rules to be introduced by the government.

The changes, which will come into force from 8 January 2026, will affect applicants for skilled worker or scale-up visas for people employed in high-growth businesses.

The new rules form part of wider plans to reduce immigration levels to the UK, outlined in a white paper in May.

Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said: “If you come to this country, you must learn our language and do your part.”

“This country has always welcomed those who come and contribute to this country,” Mahmood said.

“But it is unacceptable for immigrants to come here without learning our language and without contributing to our national life.”

Applicants will be tested in person on speaking, listening, reading and writing skills at Home Office approved providers and their results will be checked as part of the visa process.

Applicants for skilled worker, scale-up and high potential individual (HPI) visas will need to achieve B2 level, which is a step up from the current B1 standard, which is equivalent to GCSE.

To come to the UK on a skilled worker visa, immigrants need to work for a government-approved employer and earn at least £41,700 a year or the “prevailing wage” for their type of job, whichever is higher.

The scale-up visa is open to immigrants coming to work in a fast-growing business in the UK. Immigrants can apply for a high-potential individual visa if they have obtained a qualification from one of the world’s top universities within the last five years.

According to the British Council, which offers English language courses, students who reach B2 level “can understand the main ideas of complex texts on concrete or abstract topics.”

They can express themselves “fluently and spontaneously” and communicate comfortably with other English speakers. They can also “produce clear, detailed text on many topics and explain a complex point of view.”

Additional English language requirements for other visa routes and for family members are expected to be introduced in due course, Home Secretary Mike Tapp told Parliament on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister has previously said the changes outlined in the white paper would make Britain’s immigration system “controlled, selective and fair”.

Home Office estimates suggest the measures could reduce the number of people coming to the UK by up to 100,000 a year.

Net migration to the UK – total permanent arrivals minus total permanent departures – falls to 431,000 in 2024; that number is down nearly 50% from the total in 2023, when it reached a record high of 906,000.

Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, said the government faced a “switch” between “ensuring that immigrants speak good English and enabling employers to recruit workers who are expected to provide economic benefits”.

He said many postgraduate jobs already required language skills above A-level standard.

The new language requirements will “have a greater impact on medium-skilled jobs requiring technical and manual dexterity, where employers sometimes do not require high language proficiency.”

Immigration lawyer Afsana Akhtar told BBC News that she thought it was “unfair” that immigrants had to achieve such a high standard of English “because even a lot of people in the UK probably wouldn’t be able to pass English A level”.

“This will exclude even skilled workers who want to come and contribute to our British economy,” he said.

“The GCSE standard is good enough and then when they get here, [and] “As they integrate into England and the British way of life, their English will inevitably improve.”

Other measures in the white paper include reducing the length of time international students can stay in the UK to find postgraduate work after finishing their course from two years to 18 months, effective from January 2027.

Students will also need to meet higher financial requirements, rising to £1,171 per month outside London (from £1,136) for up to nine months.

The Global Talent visa, for high achievers in technology, arts and academia, has been expanded to include winners of more prestigious awards.

Other plans in the White Paper also include increasing the immigration skills fee that UK employers will pay when sponsoring foreign workers on certain visas, to £480 per person per year for small organizations or charities, and £1,320 for medium and large organisations.

This amount was increased from £364 and £1,000 respectively.

The HPI route will be expanded as part of the government’s efforts to attract highly skilled people to the country. The number of immigrants subject to visas is expected to double from 2,000 to 4,000, but the application limit will be 8,000 each year.