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Hi!

I am sorry if this question has been asked millions of times already. I've tried to search for the answer, but couldn't find the exact relevant info. So here it comes.

I am on T2 General planning on applying for ILR in a couple of weeks. To get my first entry clearance five years ago I've passed an IELTS test. That was in 2012 in Prague. On my certificate there is an id of the test centre (CZ001) which corresponds to the British Council in Prague centre from this list of approved test centres. That's exactly the centre I took my test at in 2012.

According to the information at this page "Prove your knowledge of English for citizenship and settling" and also in the document "Knowledge of language and life in the UK", one can use an expired certificate as long as it's from an approved centre and has been previously used for immigration purposes. Which seems to be exactly my case, so I've assumed it's valid for ILR application.

But then I've found in this same "Knowledge of language and life in the UK" document the part about Unique Reference Number. A number that each language certificate has and you need to provide it with your application otherwise it's going to be refused. The trouble is, the number on my certificate doesn't correspond to the format mentioned in the "Knowledge of language and life in the UK" document. I assume that's because the number format has been changed recently, but my certificate is 5 years old now.

So you see here why I am confused. One part of the document is telling me I can use my certificate, while another part says that if I don't have a valid URN I cannot use it. Would anyone be able to shed some light on this case for me please?

You are right asking this question and I have been exactly in the same position (Tier 2/previous ILETS at time odf entry clearance).

There is certainly the option for the new IELTS reference number and believe me despite calling the Home Office again and again, no one gave me a satisfactory answer.

I am applying for ILR (Premium) on 28th Feb and did not want to take any risk of my application being refused, thus I gave the UKVI IELTS B1 (knowing that it costs £150).

I am already paying £4750 for (2 applicant Premium ILR) and like all of us, have paid thousands in last 5 years for visa renewal fees and IHS, I just feel it would be better if you sit UKVI IELTS B1 (result is posted in about a wek's time).

Again, you COULD use your previous IELTS (as you are applying in 2 weeks time) and I doubt you will be able to find an IELTS exam slot. Nonetheless, this exam consists only of listening/speaking and is a piece of cake to pass.

Try your luck with submitting your current/expired IELTS and if your application is approved, please do post back. It will help others as well. I just could not take the risk of messing on my Premium appointment day and sat the exam.

plabo wrote:You are right asking this question and I have been exactly in the same position (Tier 2/previous ILETS at time odf entry clearance).

There is certainly the option for the new IELTS reference number and believe me despite calling the Home Office again and again, no one gave me a satisfactory answer.

I am applying for ILR (Premium) on 28th Feb and did not want to take any risk of my application being refused, thus I gave the UKVI IELTS B1 (knowing that it costs £150).

I am already paying £4750 for (2 applicant Premium ILR) and like all of us, have paid thousands in last 5 years for visa renewal fees and IHS, I just feel it would be better if you sit UKVI IELTS B1 (result is posted in about a wek's time).

Again, you COULD use your previous IELTS (as you are applying in 2 weeks time) and I doubt you will be able to find an IELTS exam slot. Nonetheless, this exam consists only of listening/speaking and is a piece of cake to pass.

Try your luck with submitting your current/expired IELTS and if your application is approved, please do post back. It will help others as well. I just could not take the risk of messing on my Premium appointment day and sat the exam.

Well yeah. Getting a certificate is obviously a solution albeit not the most efficient one. I am leaving it as a backup option in case I won't be able to find a definitive answer to my question, since I am going to apply for the premium service too and wouldn't want to loose the booking fee.

I am still hoping that someone will be able to clear this out.

Sorry, it seems like I have somehow logged in with my old account that is no longer in use to post that message above. That's a bit confusing

Still if you succeed in getting ILR with your old IELTS, please do post here. I am interested in knowing if my £150 have gone down the drain or not. Yet, it will not matter at the end once ILR is approved. Yet, your question remains very valid.

Just to give a quick update to anyone who is going to be in the same boat. I've had a consultation with an immigration layer who advised me that the safest course of actions would be to do the test again. He said that he had customers before who did get a refusal on the grounds of IELTS being old. They did manage to appeal and get it changed their way in the end, but it was a long process and lots of time wasted.

Thankfully Trinity College has a very simple listening and speaking exam that is enough for ILR and naturalisation. It's just 10 minutes talking to an examiner and you get your B1 certificate. I've decided to go ahead with that approach.

I have the same issue.

First did IELTS Academic in 2012 to get a Tier2 General.
I applied ILR today using the premium service and there was no issue using the old IELTS certificate, albeit it is not the new IELTS UKVI version.