Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the basis is for granting an exception to applicants from (a) Barbados, (b) Jamaica and (c) Trinidad and Tobago from a requirement to take International English Language Testing System exams for UK Visas and educational programmes; for what reason that exception does apply to applicants from Nigeria; how many Nigerians applied for the International English Language Testing System over the last five years; what the pass rate was in each of those years; and on what basis the charge for that test was calculated.

Those who come from a country which is on the Majority English Speaking Countries list (MESC list) are not required to provide evidence of English language ability.

To be included on the MESC list, the Home Office must have evidence over half the population in the country being considered speaks English as a first language. If a country meets this criteria it means it is more likely than not any individual applicant from that country can speak English with the level of fluency required to integrate in the UK and complete the course they are coming to study or job they are coming to do.

We do not have evidence that Nigeria meets this criteria. We regularly check whether new evidence is publicly available which shows a country meets the criteria to be included in the MESC list.

As an alternative to language testing, applicants can also rely on other types of proof of their language ability:

• having met the requirement at the required level in a previous immigration application; or
• holding a degree-level qualification which was taught in English; or
• having their chosen university or other Higher Educational Institution self-certify their level of English ability if they are applying as a student; or
• meeting the requirements for professional regulation as a doctor, dentist, nurse, midwife or veterinarian if they are sponsored as a skilled worker; or
• having a GCSE, A-level, Scottish National Qualification at level 4 or 5 or, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher, in English following education at a UK school begun when they were under-18.

Information on how many Nigerians applied for the International English Language Testing System over the last five years and what the pass rate was in each of those years is not information held by the Home Office.

The fee for the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) test is set by the relevant SELT Provider. To allow for a fair pricing system, the SELT Provider is required to ensure that customers are being charged a comparable fee for the same or similar test. Once set, any increases to the fee can only be made with the agreement of the Home Office.