My Thai wife came to live in the UK 2nd January 2011 on 27 month settlement visa ,and started an ESOL course last week that will last for 6 months part time 3 days a week , her English level was checked by the collage and she was put on level 2 course is this all she will still need to do as far as English and Life in the uk is concerned ? lloking on websites its not clear if this has been changed .

Also if she was not able to pass in time is it possible to get an extension to a settle ment visa , and if so what is required? hope some body can make this clear for us

Passing from one level to the next on an ESOL course is sufficient; provided the course contains citizenship materials and is from an approved provider. See Demonstrating your knowledge of language and life in the UK.

If she has not passed in time then she can apply for Further Leave to Remain, but unless she did so when obtaining her initial spouse visa she will need to show that she meets the basic A1 English speaking and listening requirement. See Applying from inside the UK and links from there.

Having spoken with her course teacher it seems this is may no longer be enough ,that the new requirment is to advance TWO levels not one the collage tell me that end of last year that students who had done from ESOL level 1 assesed level and then did the level 2 were told it was no longer enough and had had their applications turned down . I can find no information on the UKBA website stating this and the collage tell me their knowledge of this has only come from feed back from students and or their spouses . Does any one here know anything about this ?

The information on Demonstrating your knowledge of language and life in the UK says

ESOL and citizenship course

A 'relevant ESOL qualification' is:

• an ESOL qualification in speaking and listening at Entry 1, Entry 2 or Entry 3 level approved by the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual); or
  
• one National Qualifications Unit in ESOL at Access 2, Access 3 or Intermediate 1 level approved by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
  

You cannot obtain an Entry 1 qualification if you have to go up two levels.

I, too, can find no official information to suggest that the requirements have changed, and I'm inclined to believe the UKBA rather than some students who may have had their applications refused for some other reason.

I have looked on UKBA website again and can not see anything saying they have changed , yet the collage are adament that they have had to change what they tell students they need , my wife was tested and was at level 1 and was put on the course she is on now ESOL level 2 with citizenship content , she has been told by the collage that this is no longer enough and she will need to do the speaking and listening part of level 3 afterwards . She is not too worried by having to do this I am just worried about throwing £900+ away in the wrong direction any Idear how to find out for sure ?

Contact the UKBA and ask:-

Contact details

The email address below is for applicants who are already in the UK and require general information about the Immigration Rules' requirements. For data protection reasons, we cannot answer questions about individual cases by email.

Phone: 0870 606 7766

Textphone: 0800 389 8289 (the contact centre also accepts calls by text relay and other similar services)

Email: UKBApublicenquiries(at)ukba.gsi.gov.uk (Altered to frustrate spambots; replace (at) with @)

Address: UK Border Agency, Lunar House, 40 Wellesley Road, Croydon, Surrey CR9 2BY

Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday 09:00 to 16:45, Friday 09:00 to 16:30 (excluding public holidays).

am interested in this out come because i want too send my misses on the courses. But to be honest i spoke too the lady in charge of the local esol courses and she didnt say a word about this and my misses is stating her course in sept

She only has to progress to one level, as stated on the UK border Agency site, be Aware that most colleges want to sell you more Courses, I had to fight the college where my wife went to show them they where wrong, The cost i paid last year was £200. they are after your money I think she can register for Job seekers allowance, 7By7 will put me right if i am wrong, if she gets that she can get the courses for a cheaper rate, or maybe free, Its up to the college now the government have removed most of the Funding.make certain that the course has citizenship material in it, also ask for a letter when she has finished the Course to confirm it.

Unless I am missing something your wife has temporary leave to remain and her passport vignette will state 'no recourse to public funds'. She is therefore not eligible for any benefits and this includes Job Seekers Allowance unless she has made sufficient NI contributions.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/while-in-uk/rightsandresponsibilities/publicfunds/

Indeed, until she has ILR she can only claim certain public funds, including those based on any NI contributions she has paid.

Income based JSA; no.

Even after ILR she may not get any income based JSA as your income would be taken into account when assessing her entitlement.