Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) routes to naturalisation, (b) fee exemptions and (c) special considerations are available to foreign nationals who have completed a period of Crown Service as a civilian working overseas for British Military; and if her Department will make an assessment of whether B1 English tests are necessary for each of visa renewal where the applicant holds existing Ofsted accreditation as an English Teacher.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Foreign nationals who have completed a period of Crown service overseas are able to apply for naturalisation. British nationality law allows for discretion to be exercised over some of the residence requirements for naturalisation applications, if the customer can demonstrate they were in Crown service.
In most cases, people seeking to settle or naturalise in the UK will need to prove they have the required level of English depending on the route they are applying under. The English language requirement for each visa route is set out within the Immigration Rules for each individual route.
Appendix English Language of the Immigration Rules sets out how an applicant can meet this requirement. The English language requirements for naturalisation applications are set out in The British Nationality (General) Regulations 2003. This includes information about the options available to demonstrate the required level of English.