It's a pity that there are thousands of poeple living/working in the UK who cannot understand a single word of English. But genuine poeple who want to visit from other countries has to take a stupid language test!!!!!!
the citizens of this country dont even know half of what we are expected to know if it was something to do with respecting the laws of the land that will be understandable or do do some commuinty work other than knowing how many people live in scotland or percentages of people at work to me it does not make any bit of sense
It is a hard one to judge. I was born here (47 years old) and dont know all the answers. The questions are not about life in the UK. They appear more political.
i would like to book like in uk test could u please send me a websid or phone number to i can book on the telephon please ,
kind regard
kurosh kianrad 07498790514
I feel more confident and more part of society after learning the information in Life Test UK. Great idea,I feel proud to be living in this great country.
if non british people want to get the citizenship and a british passport it's the least they can do. i agree with the test.. and as long someone knows english enough and studies for it, it is easy...
This test is actually putting strain on my marriage. I am British and have been married to my husband for nearly4 years and he struggles to pass this test. We both work and contribute to the system and in times of recession its difficult to be raising funds to pass some stupid test that I as a British citizen openly admit that I would not be able to pass either (and I teach in a primary school). Sorry...but it is a load of crap. My husband and I have proved that it's not a marriage of convenience and he still can not get indefinite cause of this test.
It's a good idea but some of the questions are too detail and specific especially those asking about the percentages of each ethic minority and religious. I don't think it needs to be memorised as I doubt any general uk citizen actually know it.
If there is to be a test then it should be fair and answerable by the majoruty of British born working class people. Immigrants dont need to know the percentage of catholics to protestants, or how many seats the uk has in the EU these type of questions are totally irrelevant and couldnt be answered by the majority of normal British Citizens
As a 55 yrs British citizen born and bred I have tried the test on several occasions and never achieved better than 50%. The test is mostly about irrelevant statistics that you will happily forget as soon as you have passed the test. If they must learn something let them learn something practical.
Anita.. If I'm not mistaken. You don't have to take the Life In The UK Test to be a citizen. - IF your already a qualified UK Permanent Resident, once Test is passed. At a later date you can apply for citizenship without being tested again.
I believe that It is quite necessary to obtain the basic knowledge about UK in order to settle down here permanently.I agree with this idea & will pass the test myself as well.
It's nothing but a money making scheme.this year it has increased to ã50 ,from ã30.a citizen of the uk would not even know the answers to the questions asked.
I was born in England and half the questions I cant answer if someone is taking the time and paying a lot to learn English that in my humble opinion should be good enough. Once you pass the test which is going up to ã50 you still have to pay a fortune for a visa its all a big rip of! No wonder we have so many illegals in UK and they keep getting uncheckable amnestiys
i dont know what knowing for the percentage of minorities can help some one to integrate the population
I am sure also many born citizen will faill the test because there is some ridiculous questions like the distance between that place to onother one....
The test is du n'importe quoi
dear sir i hope you will allow me to become a citizen in england thank you please email my email address is chrisman_jo@yahoo.com i was born in ruislip harrow england on august 16 1960 thank you sincerly jo ann chrisman
Pass the test first time absolutely brilliant course material. I strongly recommend it to anyone wishing to take thhe citizenship test. The course is easy to read with practical exercises and above all very informative. Those who embark on purchasing books after books to pass the test please don't waste your time, get the online material and it will get you where you want to be. It's cheap, easy to use with exercises chapter by chapter and a test simulation. I enjoyed the ride from end to finish.
I have a Master's degree in History from Oxford and I only scored 54%. I have also lived in the Uk for most of my life. I wonder if most of our politicians can score well on this test??
This is completely an exploitation of immigrants to get money. This is a useless exercise
I ever seen, all what the British know is money making. There are people who had in the county long enough and paid tax and these people to be exempted from this. If the government want to make money, they should not punish those who had been in the county long and paid taxes with the new people just came to the country and rushing to obtain British passport. This is totally unjust, irrespective so call equal opportunity policy. British passport means absolutely nothing to me, just to use as convince to travel to Europe easily and to my country, to pay a visa fee. This should be abolished, is totally money making. I donâÂÂt need to kno every stupid thing in the UK while those who born even donâÂÂt know
It should be optional; you pass it, you pay half the home office visa costs, and if you decide not to do it, you pay twice the cost. I'm still struggling with the reading at the moment ...! Good important info but half is just not necessary.
MOST PEOPLE THAT WERE ACTUALLY BORN IIN THIS COUNTRY WOULD PROBABLY NOT BE ABLE TO PASS THIS TEST SO WHY PUNISH PEOPLE WHO WASNT! AS LONG AS THEY CAN COMMUNICATE WHILST IN THIS COUNTRY. THEN I DONT SEE WHY THEY NEED TO LEARN POINTGLESS INFORMATION THAT DOESNT PROVE ANYTHING.
It should be the kind of test that people who are born UK citizens should be able to pass first time. Apparently MOST UK citizens who take the test have trouble with it! I've been living and working here for 25 years, am an educated person and native English speaker, and I had bother. Also, there are many questions on the test which are now out of date, or applicable to parts of the UK but not all of it.
I think its a brilliant way to show you are interested in life in the uk and also be keen on how to know the british way of living. Which anyone who consider life are to reside here should know
This is where your totally wrong,its nothing to do about speaking English its about learning totally irrelevant questions which the government think will make people integrate.
my wife passed it and her english is not that good it ,quite a few people failed it whose English was much better than my wife's,i am not complaining my wife passed but it just total nonsense and expensive having to take time off work for rubbish
It should exist but the questions are totally irrelevent. I am British since birth and so is my father, 71yrs! Neither of us can answer these questions, it's ridiculous what is asked.
Most of the information tested on is pretty irrelevent. What's so important about knowing the population of Scotland or that Ulster Scots is spoken in Northern Ireland? My English housemates didn't know!!
im currently helping a colleague of mine to revise - i think this test is a load of rubbish. i do not know or even care about half of the facts or questions.
if people want to be here and work then just let them.
IT SHOULD BE EASIER BECAUSE EVERYONE JUST PAYS FOR THE TEST A LOT OF MONEY AND ITS CRAZY THAY SHOULD MAKE A NEW LAW FOR FORGEINS CITIZENS APPLYING FOR CITIZENSHIP OF GREAT BRITAIN,SCOTLAND AND NORTHERN IRELAND ....THEY SHOULD MAKE A LAW FOR THEM THAT WILL SUIT TO THEM .. OR THEY SHOULD GAIN THE BRITISH CITIZEN STATUS AFTER 6 YEARS AND NOT BUY TEST COZ ITS CRAZY
The idea of the test is for the person to learn about and engage with the british society, however the test makes the person to read and memorize some information and no more while most of the people who take the test probably have lived in the UK for years by the time they take the test, and have most of that information already too. I think requiring the individual to do a week of charity work would do alot better for the purpose of engaging with the society and learning about it and helping it aswell, but of course the government could not make money out of that, could they?
I think the concept of a citizenship test is absurd.I have grown up here my entire life for 21 years. I identify and see myself as british. A lot of the questions are irrelevant, regarding statistics or requiring knowledge of certain facts that I'm sure many british citizens wouldn't be aware of as they are entirely irrelevant (and why would someone be aware of such particular facts?)! What does it matter if you're not aware of the percentage of christians in the UK being roman catholics? It has nothing to do with whether someone should be eligible to be a british citizen or not. This entire thing is bollocks.
It is good for one,who wishes to reside permanently in a country to be abreast of what goes on there.It is a good idea,& am totally in support of it.It should stay.
People that's coming Britain should have i knowledge of how the country run i take it and past so what right now i know a lot more about the uk, before i didn't have a clue.
i personal feel its unfair .this should not exist at all. english people goes to any country and you just fit just like that without even speaking there lingo and you are not forced to learn it.this should be removed.
My wife is Chinese and has to take this motherfucking diabolical piece of zanuLabour gobshite bullshit. Give me one Labour MP who could pass it off hand and it'd be a fucking miracle.
i really like the idea because people should always know more about the country they're living in. sometimes you don't even know so many things about your own country that are very important!
Granted I'm high but I'm a UK citizen and have been my whole life, i'm educated and feel I am a good citizen yet have failed the test. Indicative of thehigh level of difficult
In my view the Life in the UK Test is not an effective way to 'encourage' people seeking British Citizenship to learn about the British way of life. Most of what one may learn whilst studying for this test would not be used in their daily lives in the UK. Whereas I do not see this as a money-making scheme I see this as an attempt by the UK Government to frustrate the process of granting citizenship to many, especially those who have difficulty in learning, including but not only due to language problems. The ironic thing is that I know many people who have somehow passed this test yet have required an interpreter during the Passport interview process. Astonishingly, those requiring an interpreter during their interview as a pre-requisite to being issued with a British Passport are not penalised. Those who do not have the ability to pass the test, and who are not able to obtain a Travel Document or a passport from their registered country of origin, are left in the unfortunate position of not being able to travel which means that they then cannot even travel say to meet terminally ill parents. This is a sad state of affairs and does not show the UK in a good light as far as say being an exponent of democracy.
I have been living in the UK leagally since I was ten years.It was my choice not to have a british passport.I have been travelling using my country of origin passport,but in most of the countries I have visited I was given too many grief and hassle,so I decided to apply for a British passport.I bought this programe and after two weeks of revising,I took the test and I passed on my first attempt.Is that a good thing.?I dont think so because I now have the option of whether I want to pay nearly ã800 for a poxy citizenship
Most well educated UK citizens would not be able to pass this test, and neither should they. The questions are innapropriate and the test not fit for purpose.
My wife is having to take this test. She comes from Macedonia which is not part of the EU. We have been married for over 8 years (I am English) and have 2 children, a mortgage and a business together. She has always worked as have I and has paid her taxes and National Insurance. Most of her friends are English and yet she has to pass a test to prove her knowledge of English culture. My Mum who is a 63 year old English lady and well educated only just passed the test by 1 question so what does this tell you.
The reason for this is simple: money and fame have historically been a less powerful motivator for creative types than the prospect of receiving oral sex
i think that does who have their indefinite are suppose to get thier british passport after two years and kids from nine to 12 who are not born here are soppose to have thier british passport when they have thier indefinite and that's what i think should happen it would be a good idea .
i think it just another way of government of generating extra income; as they are running short. it's not about people should know how uk runs. once one has passed the test most dont remember most of it!
Why should foreigners be tested on their knowledge on britain when you will find most born english citizens hardly know much about their country of birth we should all be treated equally
its only making money nothing eals , i had complet ESOL in English now they asked me to do the test wat for . i can spek English i dont hve any problem why do i have to do that test just to west my money and time .
the uk test is good think i be permanent residence in uk from the last 8 years and i think is right the people com from another country understand a little history politic exc....about the country were you decide to make your life
The questions are ridiculous and many UK nationals could not pass the test.
Knowing the answers to these questions has nothing to do with being British.
THIS IS RIDICULOUS TEST BECAUSE THIS INCREASE THE CORRUPTION IF YOU CAN SEE MANY PEOPLE HAVE THE CERTIFICATED BUT NOT UNDERSTAND NOT SPEAK ENGLISH HOW GET THIS CERTIFICATED PAY ã600 OR ã500 PER THAT REALLY IS NOT FAIR CAN YOU CONTACT SOME PERSONS WHO HAVE AND TRY IF RALLY UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING ABOUT LIFE IN UK TEST, I LIVING HERE FOR 16 YEARS I SPEAK I A BUSINESS WOMAN I LOST THIS TEST TWICE PLEASE DON`T INCREASE CORRUPTION IN THIS COUNTRY TOO ,I READING THIS BOOK FROM THE BACK TO THE FROM AND FROM TO BACK AND USE PC FOR FREE TEST WITH 1.320 QUESTION BUT I STILL NEED MAKE TEST AGAIN HOW I KNOW IF I MAKE CORRECT ANSWER? BECAUSE I DON`T TRUST THEM
How do you do?
I am 31 years old woman and I live in Venezuela, Santa Rosa. My interests it is a family and spiritual self-improvement. For a long time dreamed to make international friends
i think the test should be about the command of the language rather the way of life as to communicate is more important then way of life as by lving here you will learn these things
do brits have to pass a life test in order to settle in another country???
however those who wish to settle in the uk! they should have some knowledge about uk as well should be able to speak the language also, i personally find it very inappropriate,
In my opinion, the wording of the questions is very poorly done. "Smoking has increased in the UK? T/F" Since when, yesterday? Several other examples come to mind. Paraphrasing: "Who do we remember on Nov 11th? A) Veterans of the 1st world war and other wars. B) Veterans of the 1st and 2nd world war and other wars" The answer is B) but how exactly is that different than A? Is the 2nd World war not really a war? Last one: "Many people believe women should not be given equal rights and work? T/F" Define "many", 4? 40? 400?, 4000? If 4000 people say something I would consider that "many people". I am sure I could find 4000 unenlightened souls in the UK that would believe that. How about 'Most'. For a country that is this judgemental about English, this test is a disgrace.
If the test should exist, which I am on the fence about, it should cover details needed to live in the country. It is not important for me to know that .3% of the UK population is Bangledeshi. Spend more time on how the government works, how to get through a productive day, what your rights are with respect to policing, major laws you need to follow, etc... When I give my kids allowance is not important.
meh... End of the day, it is a multiple choice test and anybody that can read can pass it. I just don't get the point of testing trivialities and doing it poorly.
I do agree to you Ej the question are really stupid and it seems like u cant never pass the bloody test, q are desame ive been reading the online test a while now and ive try to have a actual test and i was failed. and you have to pay the actual test 36 pounds or something then if u pass u had to pay more for british pass its just madness. how much more we need to give to this country just to save those lazy bastards seating at home doing nothing just to have kids and makes us pay for there crap.
I am British and only scored 46%. As a teacher I would say I am intelligent but clearly these questions are not relevant to living in Britain. I agree there should be a test but this one certainly needs making appropriate to living in Britain today!
I dont think it is fair that the test was brougt out in the first place because everyone dont know what they re doing And I slso think is about making money and nothing more.
why should people new to the country know 100 fold more about. the country than those who have lived here through generations. Good revenue for the government.
i agree now people they try to learn english before when tosee airport to go any were out side uk tosee many people have passort british they don.t speak even eglish but now people they try how to learn enlish and culture of england
I think Hm Forces/personnels deserved to authomatically qualified as a British Citizens immediately after been enrole in the Force,cos they contribute a lot and sacrified for themselve and the country,so is wire when travelling with the force abroad commonwealth soldier sawing different national passport??
I live in a remote town. The colledge opposite my house has been closed,leaving no English classes available.My MP does not reply to my emails and has said "There are 0 immigrants in west Somerset in 2009".The nearest test centre is a 114 mile round trip to the next County, for which we must both take a day off work,at a cost of ã200 .WHY HAVE THE EXAM IF YOU WITHDRAW THE EDUCATION FACILITY.
It is a good way of witnessing and seeing how UK/Britain is made, how the laws are passed and work, where to seek help/advice and how to operate within the law.
Most of the questions seem to be irrelevant. Why do I need to know What percentage of Christians in the UK are Roman Catholic? Especially if I'm neither a Christian nor a Catholic.
And what percentage of actual Britons can pass this test? Has anyone bothered to find out?
another exploitative avenue to generate money from genuine immigrants, UK citizens by birth do not know most of the information or have cause to know..........
i strongly disagree that the tesstshould exist because there are people who for 10 pu to 15 yrs for confirmation from the home office by that time , one is too old to go through that hassle.
The only point I would make is that the publication on which the test is based still contains both factual and typographical errors, and is written in very poor, and often ungrammatical, English. Which is distracting and unattractive.
It will help immigrants to know and also to understand their new environment. The diverse nature and peoples they may have to come in contact with in the course of their daily lives and how to conduct them selves.
Well done, people should be informed and they should be acquaint themselves as much as possible with their new world. Those who don't like the Test please go back to your country.
Maybe David Cameron should be made to take the test. My friend has to take it and I think it is very hard. It has questions that most British people wouldn't know the answer! It should be more relevant to today's UK.
Wayne Smith, at least you had a go, whoever you are. Mr Englishman, you should be ashamed of yourself. It is because of people like you there is a test in the first place. Also, there is a comma before "which", "38-year-old" is hyphenated and your spelling of ridiculous is wrong.
people are right in saying that when british people do not know the answers of these questions, why should overseas people remember crazy data about uk in percentages and history in 17th, 18th and 19th century.
Most british citizens don't even know the answers to these question we are expected to answer. I got most of my work colleagues (all british citizens) to take the demo test and they all failed. Just goes to prove how unnecessary some of these questions really are.
this is ridicul;ous,I don,t know the answers to most questions,how is someone from oversees supposed to know them.This test should be based around the do,s and don,ts,the law in general and how to conduct yourself in a mixed community.It,s a complete joje!
My Wife who has lived in the country for 14 years payed taxes into the system never needed to take a test to pay over £90,000 pounds in taxes which in turn has helped towards the elderly, infirm, disabled people in this country and all the long term state spongers.
She did not need to take a test to do that .
I suppose that learning this information would show determination to enter, but most British people themselves would not be able to pass this test. Maybe remove some of the more irrelevant questions?
i'ts good to know about the life here in the uk but it's not fair as almost all the locals does'nt even know the answers, it can be learn anyway in our day to day life experiences or by reading,etc but not this way. I'ts not really fair.
I believe that the test should not exist for those who can prove they have lived in the UK for 5 years plus, that run a business, pay tax, do not receive any benefits, speak English as their first language and from a Commonwealth country should not have to sit this insult of a test
lt was good only that it was bit trick not easy please my vote is how can l just get a british passport without all this reading i really need it because this is my only home now
life uk test should exist and givin to people who eeekin asylum and people who not mary. wifes and husbands of a bistish citizen should not go through this.
Reading through the Life in Uk book. The book has got quite a bit of information in it and reading through it is quite knowledge gaining.
My query here is, how much pass % is expected a britisher takes this test. I dont think even the people who are british by origin would answer many of those questions related to statistics in various areas. then why test for non british when britishers themself are not guarenteed to pass the test if taken?
try reading the test book which can be borrowed from your local library,when you are familia with the answers then you can take the actual test. i took mine this morning and PASSED. good luck
I'm taking the test myself now and I really thought I knew so much about the UK Turns out I was wrong. All the same, surely there can only be a general benefit from more knowledge about the place you are living in.
Wether native Brits can answer the questions or not is irrelevant, you want to settle in this country therefore you have to abide by the laws of this land. The test is easy if you read your course material properly unless you are really daft which i have no doubt you are. Get back in the back of the lorry the same way you entered the country and get out if you don't like the way things are done here.
The questions are far too hard, most British citizens couldn't answer them! It is just a way of limiting the number of immigrants who achieve permanent residency. If you fail, will they throw you out, even if married to a UK citizen? If so, that is a scandal!
If one wants to become a citizen of a new country must have at least basic knowledge about this country and its people. And the only thing we can do is learn. That is it.
why should it exist? i want to immigrate to Britain someday but I don't kow anything about it... another problem is that I cannot talk to people in English fluently!! *arr*
What a waste of time! I'm English, a professional graduate and got one out of five. How does this show whether someone should be allowed in the UK. How about, can they speak English? This only shows someones ability to memorise some answers. Probably 95% of the British population should be deported!
A lot of the book is completely irrelevant to living in the UK. Some really ridiculous questions formed around beliefs that would not apply to a lot of English people. A really daft test.
Moat of the question on this test are so hard that the majority of the ENGLISH population don't know so I think is unfair that we have to. The questions should be about general english knowledge and about present issues. Why should we have to know the percentage between male and female population in England in the 1960's????
I totally agree. I am a British Citizen and I have no idea how may times native English speakers outnumber scotish/welsh people. The questions are RIDICULOUS and have NOTHING to do with what is relevant in todays society. It is just another government ploy to make money and exploit people who are potentially great assests to British society!
Moron..the issue is that the content is not known by 99% of native British so why should immigrants have to learn irrelevant, useless rubbish to become a citizen when the rest of the British population couldnt score 10% correct on the test?.
Such a shame!as for a person like me who depress and cant consantraet on anything it is hard,i dont no what to do or who to talk to about this,i have fail twice and my confidence fail too. Now what do i do?
i know how you feel, i also suffer from depression and panic attacks.try readindg one chapter a day e.g chapter 2 then revise it the whole day dont stress over it,and then try another chapter the next day.do not rush to take the test exept you,re familia with it.the lord is your strengt.i took the test today and PASSED it first attemp.
What on earth does knowing what percentage of t5he UK is RC have to do with being a responsible UK citizen???????
Try asking - How many civilised countries did they avoid in order to get to the UK and why?
I really do not se the need for all this. these people contribute alot to our country and yet we take more from them. They pay for visas (which could be refused), they pay taxes like most of us (and yet are not allowed to claim any thing back like we do, most of these people do the jobs we ould not do. Surely we abuse them one way our the other and make their lifes difficult in every ay we can. If we go to thir countries they treat us better than we treat them. SURELY WHY ARE WE DOING THIS TO THEM? I say all this must stop!
I'm impressed of what you've said here ;-) its all true!! Hope everyone understands that foreigner pays a LOT to pay for settlement,naturalization,
tax.. I'm so pleased with the way you think about foreigners.. Thank you! more power to you!
Is that the best name you could come up with to pretend you are English? Considering your less than adequate grammer and spelling, I am assuming English is not your first language. Failed the test recently perhaps? That said, I do not blame you for hating the test as I only scored 7/12 which is terrible for a 38 year old Brit like me! I should be thrown out the country immediately! The test is a bit rediculous and I would only consider it valid if the vast majority of Brits scored 100%.
I was born in UK, I failed a sample test @45%,it's a disgrace to permanent residency citezens or other's status who already live and work in this country and contribute a great deal to this nation, but will be denied naturalisation by failing to answer some useless statitical questions. By July 2011 it'll be even worse with the new immigration law being introduced. I would suggest somewhere else like Spain with much easier immigration rules, and that's besides the fact that this countries on it's last legs anyway. GOOD luck, you'll need it.
Q.Looking at the statistics how many people failed the free test on avereage?
a. 86%
6. 75%
c. 67%
d 55%
Answer - 86%.... see what I mean!!!
Its a pathetic way for the government to make money out of hard working people who are actually putting money into the Uk and who are already often settled in UK life. Its utterly pointless and should be scrapped. What amockery it makes of the UK
WILL IT BE ANY HELP TO LIVE IN THE UK FROM WHAT U LEARNED.
dID U EVER ASKED URSELF HOW MANY BRITISH PEOPLE KNOW SOME OF THE EASIEST QUESTIONS THERE!!
THEN THINK NOW
It is a great help and the information inside are very usefull. I started this test with a negative vibe as I wasn't glad to go through it but then really did enjoy it like Sachin mentionned. It doesn't take that long to get prepared for someone who has been living here a certain set of years. A single carefull read of the book should be enough. I dare anyone to say the opposit.
sooner or later gov well put a TEST just to have a full ENGLISH BREAKFAST.
just wonder if the giv ever think that we already struggle enough just to survive here on the delay basis for god sake!
There shouldn't be so many questions about schools, grades, education systems, - what if I don't have children and am not planning to have any? Are we all considered just machines to procreate and increase British population?? It should be more neutral and only about things that apply to everybody, such as basic laws, freedoms, democratic values, etc. Testing me on knowledge about how to switch my phone provider?Who even invented that??!!!
The test is there for people to learn a thing or two about settling here.I know its bad on your pocket but at least you will know few bits and pieces about this Great Nation.Its Simple really if u aint intrested my dear no is forcing anyone,its only there to educate some few ignorant out there who doesn't want to learn English culture and yet are living here.its a part of the package if u wanna be living here permanantly and folowing simple rules and laws.
Life in the UK Test
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