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HI all
i was wondering if someone can assist here as i received no help from either Home Office, Council or Citizenship ADvisors
I am an EU national married to a British citizen since 2010. I have been in the country since 2003, working as Software Engineer for British and American employers.
I want to apply for British Citizenship , and i have seen from Home Office that i need to
1 - pass Life in teh Uk test (i already passed)
2 - demonstrate sufficient knowlege of the english language

I was wondering if i can apply to some sort of dispensation for point 2: if i didnt have sufficient knowledge of the English language i would not have been hired to work in UK in the first instance, working in a field (Software Engineering) which is entirely in English.
I am not willing to pay £150 for a 10 minute chat about my life at Trinity College just to prove i can speak English, and i am not willing to go blindly to a £50 appointmetn to the Council office (my council can give citizenship) just to be told to go away and come back (paying other £50) with some sort of proof that i know English.
could anyone offer any advice here?

kind regards
Marco

mmistroni wrote:I was wondering if i can apply to some sort of dispensation for point 2

Nope.

mmistroni wrote:I am not willing to pay £150 for a 10 minute chat about my life at Trinity College just to prove i can speak English

Either that or a UK degree.

In addition to secret.simon's advice....your local Council don't 'give you citizenship'. They simply check your application and supporting documents for validity, and forward these to the Home Office to make a decision.

Using the Council's National Checking Service (NCS) also enables you to retain your original documents, including your passport.

Do you have confirmation that you have acquired PR?

secret.simon wrote:

mmistroni wrote:I was wondering if i can apply to some sort of dispensation for point 2

Nope.

mmistroni wrote:I am not willing to pay £150 for a 10 minute chat about my life at Trinity College just to prove i can speak English

Either that or a UK degree.

Or forget the whole thing.

You demonstrate your ability to speak and understand English in very specific ways. Being hired to do a job in the UK does not demonstrate that. Swallow your pride and just do it - I am from a country where many people's native language is English and they all have to do the "test" if they cannot prove it through a degree.

Similarly, you may feel that after living in the UK for a certain number of years, you understand it quite well, but that is not the way to prove it, you prove it by sitting a test.

Just do the test - there are no ways around it unless you have a degree which was taught in English (and honestly, if I had the option of doing the test or getting a NARIC letter for that, I would just do the test).

mulderpf wrote:Just do the test - there are no ways around it unless you have a degree which was taught in English (and honestly, if I had the option of doing the test or getting a NARIC letter for that, I would just do the test).

Can you please elaborate on that? I have a BA philosophy from UIS (United States) and considering both options, still not sure which one is better. I thought including the diploma would be enough but it does not seem so anymore. What else do I need? Some kind of certificate for NARIC confirming that BA from US university is equivalent to a UK degree (have to pay £125 plus VAT) ?

Here is the guideline:

"4. If your degree was taught or researched in English

You can prove your knowledge of English by having a degree that was taught or researched in English.

If you have a degree from a UK university, you only need your original degree certificate.

If your degree isn’t from a UK university, you’ll need your original degree certificate and one of the following:

an original letter or certificate from UK NARIC confirming the equivalent level of your degree, plus an official letter from your university with your name and degree confirming that your degree was taught in English
an original and official certificate from your university confirming the degree was taught or researched in a majority English-speaking country (except Canada)"

No. I looked into the alternatives, and they are at least as expensive, and usually more arduous.

To be honest, the whole language test is more of a biometric exercise anyway. They take your picture, they take a voice print, and they check your passport at every single step. It is not really about your language skills.