DagonKhan

Yes, A1 is significantly easier. The B1 test has a planning activity but A1 is basically just conversation and listening.

However you first need to determine with UKVI which test is required.

I believe, but am not sure, that B1 is necessary for a spouse settlement visa whereas A1 is not? Just been reading about it on the British Council's website.

IELTS tests can be taken in the UK, see table 2 of the list of approved providers.

However, it does not, of course, matter who one takes the test with in the UK, Trinity or IELTS, as long as one achieves the required grade!

Apologies for jumping in on someone else's thread, but as my question pertains to the same subject I hope no one minds.

Am I correct in saying that either "IELTS" or IELTS Life Skills" is okay for a spouse visa? If so, which one do people go for? Is one easier than the other?

IELTS Life Skills is for A1 or B1 visa requirements. It only has Speaking & Listening components. The main IELTS exam is for academic / university or general training / employment and is far more difficult, with Writing and Reading parts as well as Speaking & Listening.

I believe IELTS Life Skills A1 is a slightly easier test to take, in that there is no need to plan an activity. Is this the test most people who are applying for a spouse visa take?

IELTS tests can be taken in the UK, see table 2 of the list of approved providers.

However, it does not, of course, matter who one takes the test with in the UK, Trinity or IELTS, as long as one achieves the required grade!

Apologies for jumping in on someone else's thread, but as my question pertains to the same subject I hope no one minds.

Am I correct in saying that either "IELTS" or IELTS Life Skills" is okay for a spouse visa? If so, which one do people go for? Is one easier than the other?

I give up

China, Myanmar: stop that train

By Yun Sun

Since reports about the cancellation of a proposed US$20 billion railway line connecting China's southern Yunnan province with Myanmar's Rakhine western coast emerged in late July, conflicting accounts about the 1,200 kilometer project's status have raised new questions about the neighboring countries' commercial relations.

Continues here:- http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/SEA-01-140814.html

Growing international interest in Myanmar, following the easing of sanctions by the West, has led to a period of unprecedented growth in the tourism industry and has seen visitor numbers soar to 2m last year from 300,000 in 2010, according to governmental data.

Continues here:- http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/economic_updates/myanmar-midst-tourism-boom

The price of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), mainly used for taxis, will be increased by 100 percent starting Oct. 1, the Voice Daily reported, citing Energy Ministry sources.

CNG price will be raised to 546.50 kyat (56 cents) per kg from 273.24 kyat, but still much less than the CNG prices in some neighbouring countries, the officials added.

----

NOTE: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy. ($1 = 979.0000 Myanmar kyat) (Yangon Newsroom; Editing by Anand Basu)

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3N0RK1F020140919

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=135027

SITTWE (IRIN) -- Nearly six months after international aid workers fled Myanmar's Rakhine State when Buddhist mobs attacked their offices and accused them of aid bias, international humanitarian aid services remain restricted, despite the needs of hundreds of thousands of people.

Continues here:- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kyle-knight/intimidation-uncertainty_b_5853864.html

Yangon, Myanmar - When Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Myanmar in November 2012, the country's leadership unveiled an ambitious reform agenda that promised to set the country on what Obama called a "remarkable journey" towards democracy.

Continues here:- http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/09/are-myanmar-reforms-backsliding-201491710425712121.html

- By Kathy M. Newbern & J.S. Fletcher

Continues here:- http://www.luxurytravelmagazine.com/news-articles/myanmar-luxury-travel-article-14793.php

(ENP Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ENP Newswire - 18 September 2014 Release date- 17092014 - PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited celebrates its 25th anniversary of successful operation in Myanmar with full commitment to sustainable development of energy resources.

Continues here:- http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2014/09/18/8023877.htm

Country left 'traumatized' by 50 years of harsh military rule

Scars on a Rohingya man's back are shown to rights workers in Bangkok. The man allegedly received the scars after being beaten by a Myanmar soldier (AFP Photo/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Continues here:- http://www.ucanews.com/news/former-political-prisoners-counsel-victims-of-torture-in-myanmar/71985

Discover Myanmar by Private Jet with TCS Expeditions

Come Aboard My Cruise to Burma and Southeast Asia

"This is Burma," Rudyard Kipling wrote more than a hundred years ago, "and it will be quite unlike any land you know about." Yes, indeed, Mr. Kipling. Yes, indeed.

Burma has been on my radar for years. I've traveled or cruised to every other country in Southeast Asia, but this one destination had eluded me. My hesitation was equal parts philosophical opposition to the brutal military regime -- which had its fist clenched around everything, including the tourist industry, for 25 years -- and a nervous tickle about personal safety.

Continues here:- http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1539

Oliver Slow

Imported cars at Thiri Mingalar car market in Yangon

Continues here:- http://mmbiztoday.com/articles/another-policy-shift-imported-cars

But applying for jobs online still has its reservations

one of the newest hospitality properties in Myanmar...

Rose Garden

Rose Garden Hotel on Pansodan road in Yangon

Continues here:- http://mmbiztoday.com/articles/yangons-rose-garden-hotel-adopts-ids-next-hotel-erp

Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

Men use a water cannon to search for rubies at the open pit of a ruby mine in Mogok

Continues here:- http://mmbiztoday.com/articles/gov-t-let-investors-decide-mining-sites

The New Light of Myanmar’s English and Burmese-language editions. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

Continues here:- http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/minister-vows-turn-govt-mouthpieces-public-service-newspapers.html

Some development is already underway at Kyaukphyu in Arakan State, the site of a planned special economic zone. (Photo: Ko Soe / The Irrawaddy)

Continues here:- http://www.irrawaddy.org/business/kyaukphyu-sez-key-china-business-corridor-doubts-remain.html