Can UK degrees exempt from the permanent residency English test? ENIC Certification and B2 New Regulations

Same British degree certificate, some people got the English test for permanent residency waived without paying a penny, while others spent £252 and were asked to provide additional documents. The difference is not in the university ranking, but in which piece of paper you submitted.

This article breaks down the "exemption from degree examination" path so that it can be directly followed: who doesn't need to do ENIC, who must do it, which package to buy, how much it costs, and what changes will happen to this path after March 26, 2027.

What are the English requirements for settlement? B1, B2 and Life in the UK are two different things.

When applying for ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain, permanent residency), the "Knowledge and Language" section is actually two separate doors:

First, Life in the UK Test, £50 per attempt, 24 questions, passing requires answering 18 (75%), if not passed, can retake repeatedly, each time paying another £50. Second, English proficiency , currently most pathways require CEFR B1 (listening and speaking).

The degree can only replace the second door. no degree can exempt Life in the UK Test - only applicants 65 years or older, or those with medical proof may be exempt. Every year, people fall into this misunderstanding.

There is another rule that many people are not aware of: If you have already proven your English proficiency in a previous successful visa application, and the level is no lower than required for the current application, then this requirement is automatically met, and you don't need to submit new materials. This is also why people who used ENIC when applying for a work visa are often told "no need to redo" when applying for ILR.

Use degree to exempt from IELTS for permanent residency, must meet these 3 conditions simultaneously

According to the Appendix English Language, the degree path needs to be tightened in three aspects:

① Academic degree, not a professional qualification. Bachelor's degree or higher, or equivalent to a UK master's or doctoral level. HND, vocational certificates, or professional association certificates do not count.
② Taught or researched in English. The course language must be English, not "has English classes".
③ Who awards the degree. This point determines whether you need to spend an extra £252.

If the degree is awarded by a UK institution , just submit the degree certificate directly, no ENIC certification is required. Note the key word here is "awarded" rather than "studied" — UK degrees awarded by UK universities' overseas campuses (such as the Ningbo or Malaysia campuses) also follow this free channel.

The evidence itself also has formatting requirements: degree certificates, official transcripts, or letters issued by the school are acceptable, but they must clearly show your full name, type and level of degree, issuing institution, and issue date. If the name does not match the passport (e.g., due to a name change after marriage), additional documents proving the name change are required.

Overseas Degree Certification ENIC: The £252 tier is the one that can be used for visa purposes.

Degrees issued by non-UK institutions (such as undergraduate degrees from China, master's degrees from the US, Australian degrees, etc.) must be certified by Ecctis (commonly known as UK ENIC / formerly UK NARIC). Starting May 1, 2025, the previous Visas and Nationality Service has been replaced by the new QLS (Qualification and Language Service) .

It will issue two documents: AQUALS indicating which level of British bachelor's/master's/doctoral degree your degree is equivalent to; English Language Proficiency Statement (ELPS) specifying the CEFR English level (B1, B2, or C1) corresponding to this degree. The visa system requires the latter, along with a reference number.

The most expensive pitfall is here: Ecctis also sells a regular Statement of Comparability, at £49.50 + VAT (total £59.40), four times cheaper, but it's for job applications, study, and professional registration, not accepted for visa and permanent residency applications, because it doesn't mention English language level at all. Every year, people buy it, only to find out at the last week before submission that they have to start over.

Time should also be reserved: The official processing period given by Ecctis is approximately 10 working days (it may take longer if there are questions about the documents), and no refund will be given once the review has started. Don't wait until two weeks before the visa expires to start the process.

March 26, 2027 ILR is promoted to B2, is the level of ENIC on your hand sufficient?

The 2026 March 5 immigration rule changes HC 1691 have been confirmed: multiple pathways to permanent residency, with English language requirements being raised from B1 to B2, effective on March 26, 2027, with a one-year buffer in between. It involves Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Scale-up, Innovator Founder, UK Ancestry, family routes, and the 10-year long residence route. BN(O) routes are not on this list, remaining at B1.

The good news is: the English-taught degree awarded by UK institutions is itself considered to meet the required level , and the increase from B1 to B2 will have almost no impact on you, as this degree certificate is a one-time insurance. The risk is: the ELPS for overseas degrees states a specific level . If it says B1, then after March 26, 2027, when you apply again ILR, this document will no longer be sufficient - the rule that "it has been previously proven" only applies when the level is not lower than the current requirement, and the threshold increase does not automatically extend.

So what can be done now is very specific: take out the ENIC document from the drawer, find the CEFR line, and check whether it says B1 or B2/C1. For those who have B1, either arrange the submission of ILR before March 26, 2027, or prepare for a B2 SELT test in advance. This step can save hundreds of pounds and several months, with the only cost being to open the file once.

By the way, the fee: ILR application fee will be £3,226 (originally £3,029) from April 8, 2026, plus Life in the UK £50 and biometric fee, which is already expensive, so there's no need to buy the wrong thing at the £252 level.

Exempting from the English language test for permanent residency, the 4 most common pitfalls

1. Only uploaded ENIC, forgot to upload the degree certificate. For overseas degrees, two documents need to be submitted together, and missing one will be considered as incomplete materials.
2. The name on the degree certificate is inconsistent with the passport , and no name change/marriage certificate was attached.
3. Used professional qualifications as academic degrees , found out after Ecctis certification that it does not reach bachelor's level.
4. Thought the degree could exempt Life in the UK Test. cannot be exempted, must take the £50 exam.

If you are unsure which category your degree belongs to, or cannot understand the level on ELPS, you can pay £5 at justiscript.com to get a written response from a British practicing lawyer within 24 hours, which can be in Chinese or English, and is more reliable than asking around on forums. As for how many days you still need to meet the residency requirements, you can accurately calculate it down to the day using 永居计算器 APP. You can access it by clicking the bottom menu bar of this official account.

This document is for reference only. For specific issues, please consult a licensed attorney. The fees and effective dates mentioned in the text are subject to the latest announcement from GOV.UK.

[Data source] GOV.UK "Prove your knowledge of English for citizenship and settling"; Immigration Rules amendment HC 1691 (5 March 2026); Ecctis QLS official fee page; GOV.UK Home Office Fee Schedule (effective 8 April 2026).

🧭 My judgment is that the UK on-campus degree is the most undervalued card in this round of B2 threshold increase — it does not have an expiration date, does not look at exam scores, and is not affected by the line on March 26, 2027; instead, those who previously bought a regular Statement of Comparability for convenience will have to pay again to redo it.

The above four-line comparison table is suitable for saving and checking slowly, especially for those with overseas degrees who are still considering whether to spend £252; if someone in your friends is about to submit ILR, you can also forward the table to him, asking him to confirm whether his ENIC states B1 or B2.

💬 Let me ask you, who has reached here: What CEFR level is written on your ENIC file? How long did it take to get it, and which service tier did you use? Please leave a comment, the more specific the better to help those waiting in line later.

Here, we break down one permanent residency rule every day - how to count days of absence, the order in which to arrange documents, and which new rules take effect on which date. We'll explain it clearly with real GOV.UK numbers, without scaring people or being vague.

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