British government plans to change Life in the UK test and tighten the English language requirements

In his speech at the Conservative Party conference, Home Office secretary, Sajid Javid, announced that in order to obtain British citizenship, immigrants will have to pass a new test of “British values”. Sajid Javid criticized current «Life in the UK» test, where applicants answer a series of questions about the history of the United Kingdom, its traditions and daily life, and compared it with a quiz in a pub.

He stated that “Maybe it is helpful for people to know the name of the sixth wife of Henry VIII but, far more important to me, is that they also understand the liberal, democratic values that bind our society together <…> Citizenship should mean more than being able to win a pub quiz. We need to make it a British values test - and that’s exactly what I will bring in”.

Mr. Javit also said that the English language test might change and become more difficult. According to the latest data, about 700,000 people living in the UK cannot speak English.

The government led by Theresa May announced their plans to create a single immigration system for citizens of the EU and other countries without Europeans benefiting from the free movement rights. Preference will be given to highly skilled workers, who want to live and work in the UK. It is also possible that the government would consider dropping the cap in the Tier 2 visa limit after Brexit. Currently, the number of work visas that could be granted to applicants is 20,000 per year.

The White Paper is due to be published this fall with passing the bill next year. This means that it is highly likely that the MPs will vote on the bill after March 2019, when the UK leaves the European Union.