Hi there,

I'm in the process of putting my wife's settlement visa together and I've made some inquiries into the A1 Test with BULATS in Bangkok. Having spoken to them on the phone, I was told to pass, the candidate only needs to score 10%. My response was it must be impossible to fail - to which the girl on the phone laughed and said most people pass.

I've been helping my wife to prepare for the test by using the Pearson practice tests on their website, and she's scoring very high - much higher than the 10% required!

Would there be any benefit to put her into a higher level exam? E.G Level 1 or 2?? And would it still satisfy the A1 requirement for the visa? Or must she have the A1 certificate first before moving up a level?

I'm guessing there wouldn't be much difference in cost for a higher level? A1 is 6,950 baht.

Seems unfair on her to settle with A1 when really she could be Level 1 or maybe Level 2.

Your thoughts/experiences please.

Davos

The requirement is A1 or better, so taking, and passing, a higher level would satisfy the requirement.

However, remember that you do want to ensure that she passes, so don't aim too high.

OP the Bullats test tests the full range of English language levels A1 to C2, it is a placement test. The test suits your purposes well. And if your wife scores higher, that simply translates into a high CEF grading IE B1 etc.