Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to suspend the requirement for spouses from Afghanistan to pass the English language test in order to be able to enter the UK.

The Government believes those seeking to enter and make a permanent home in the UK should be equipped to integrate successfully in UK society, with an appropriate level of English and an understanding of British life.

There are no current plans to suspend the requirement for spouses specifically from Afghanistan to pass an English language test to enter the UK.

However, under the current Rules an applicant can already be exempted from the English language requirement to enter the UK if a decision maker considers there are exceptional circumstances preventing the applicant from meeting the requirement.

The applicant must demonstrate, as a result of exceptional circumstances, they are unable to learn English before coming to the UK or it is not practicable or reasonable for them to travel to another country to take an approved English language test.

Each application for an exemption on the basis of exceptional circumstances will be considered on its merits on a case-by-case basis.