New Life In The Uk Test

[Jay Sata]

The Home Office test and handbook have been completely re-written and now excludes 'topics that those living in the UK should already be aware of'.

Questions on Monty Python, Maggie and Jessica Ennis at heart of new 'patriotic' test on Britishness for migrants

• Gone are questions about public transport, credit cards and job interviews
  
• NewLife in the UK test draws on British culture, history and traditions, and well known people who have helped shape the country
  
• Immigration Minister Mark Harper: 'The new book rightly focuses on values and principles at the heart of being British'
  

• Python, Morecambe and Wise, and Jessica Ennis in a new guide for people hoping to settle permanently in Britain.
  

An updated Life in the UK test handbook will go on sale from tomorrow, and in a departure from its politically correct predecessor, the new and somewhat more patriotic version promises to be a celebration of 'what makes Britain great.'

Minister for Immigration Mark Harper said: 'We've stripped out mundane information about water meters, how to find train timetables, and using the internet.

Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz2JCLhf3cj

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Edited January 27, 2013 by endure
Edited for copyright. Please don't post whole articles from other publications. It can cause legal problems for Thaivisa.

[phomthai]

Just booked Mrs Phomthai's test, spent ages trying to find out when the new test starts so hopefully this will help others...

Please note that for tests due to be taken on or after 25 March 2013, the questions will be based on the new Life in the UK Handbook (Third Edition). Tests to be taken before 25 March 2013 will be based on the Life in the UK Handbook (Second Edition).

[onelove]

Jay Sata, in a previous article, you were considered by another member of this forum to be prejudiced and the respondent questioned the source of your prejudice. May I suggest the Daily Mail like many others doesn't address more important issues, like in a period where public services are being massively cut-back, why doesn't this article question the cost of this review in the citizenship test in FTE and why it doesn't look deeper.

The answer may be alarming when it is reported by an independent review of the UKBA (2013) that the 14,000 'requests for reconsideration', that the UKBA was under no legal obligation to consider them. I would summise from this, it is likely the case may have been made at the time to allocate resources to another area, rather than deal with the problem of mounting appeals. However, by allocating funds to a consultant (UKBA, 2013) it is now recommended that Capita is given the contract to deal with this Migration pool. Does this newspaper question the procurement of this contract, the cost of the citizenship review, why the UKBA still does not employ a chief officer and most importantly, why UKBA was not under an obligation or had resources to resolve the appeals

In terms of the citizenship review, this has already been questioned by Chris Bryant MP, the Shadow Home Office Minister with responsibility for immigration (BBC, 2013), who considers the review of the citizenship test to be a 'gimmick' and instead this department should have asked to fix the big problems and not be wasting time on rewriting this test.

Ref;

1. UKBA, 2013, http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/2013/january/31-chief-inspectors-report

2. BBC, 2013; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21221773

[bobrussell]

Much of the old test included selective 'history' already.

Examples include which groups immigrated when and why, Gunpowder plot etc etc. the date women received the vote etc etc. It is a test to indicate sufficient English skills to learn facts in a set book. For most it should be an interesting history lesson. It will be interesting to see if it is party political though!

I did not see anything about how to use credit cards or the internet (these were covered by skills for life ESOL courses though).

A bit of nonsense really IMO and the effort could be put to more constructive purposes!

[phomthai]

First many thanks to Jay Sata for bringing this to our attention, pure fluke that we happened to be on Thaivisa last night researching new rules for Mrs Phomthai and her friends when we saw the thread.

Latest from UKBA...

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/2013/january/37-new-handbook

“....A new Life in the UK test will be introduced on 25 March 2013, 8 weeks after publication of the new handbook, to allow candidates time to prepare....”

How kind....

Mrs Phomthai's now worried that our wonderful UKBA have effectively given her just 8 weeks to pass the existing test that she’s been studying the past year for! Sadly she’s failed it a few times already, once by only 2 marks....

She’s had to read & study 3 books totalling 400 pages all written in an alien language in a script that’s totally different to her native script....and if she fails she’s going to have to start all over again with new study material whilst at the same time studying for a B1 test that Theresa May & Co decided to retrospectively introduce for those already in the country....she’s already stressed out enough as it is and this just scares the proverbial doodah out of her!

We took our eye of the ball thinking, naively, that the rules wouldn’t be retrospectively changed. Mrs Phomthai came to England in Dec-11 and we thought she’d just need either LIUK or ESOL with Citizenship...just as well we didn’t go down the ESOL with Citizenship route L...what a waste of time, effort & money that would have been! Thanks May...

A comment in passing by one of her friends got us checking the rules...OMG...

I'd love it if Theresa May & her cronies could do what Mrs Phomthai (who left school at 14 with no formal qualifications) and many other (non-EU) lesser educated immigrants have done, ie move halfway round the world to be with the spouse they fell in love with whilst greatly missing their friends and families, adapting to a colder climate where everything’s in a strange tongue and written in a funny looking script whilst, at the same time, looking for a job, integrating in to a strange society, study 400 pages of funny looking script and then sit a test of 24 questions based on a bank of 1000 questions of which they’ve only released about 400 and aim to pass 18 out of said 24 questions....somehow I think Theresa may struggle....

Mrs Phomthai amazes me with her current knowledge of the LIUK material and I’m incredibly proud of what she’s achieved so far.

Sorry Mrs May but I didn’t realise that you don’t like the idea that I fell in love with a non-white lower class Jonny foreigner from a non-EU country.....oops silly me!

My prediction? A lot of people are going to be caught out by this when they start the ILR process later this year. Just goes to show that you have to keep FULLY up to date on developments. UKBA don’t help by having a useless website with broken links etc. Got to feel sorry for anyone under the new 5 year rule....trying to keep up to date over 2 years is bad enough

Finally nice of UKBA to NOT include a link to the new book in their “News & Updates” but I guess that would be too helpful...afterall their website is an absolute mare to navigate even for those of us who like to think we’ve a small degree of intelligence...so thank you Google!

http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp?FO=1240167&trackid=002417

Don’t get me wrong I’m all for ensuring that people integrate into society but find it incredibly disheartening for Theresa May and her UKBA cronies to retrospectively move the goalposts for those already here who thought that they'd already complied with the rules...

I feel a letter to Mrs May coming on...

[7by7]

If Mrs Phomthai is having such difficulty, why has she not been doing an ESOL course or similar?

OK, she will be applying for ILR after October 2013 so an ESOL with citizenship course will no longer suffice; but from your rant it seems that you are expecting her to learn the LitUK study material without any help, other than that which you may be giving her yourself. Had she done an ESOL course, whilst it wouldn't be enough for her ILR it most definitely would help her in her studies enormously; not a waste of time.

The changes to the language qualification for ILR which come into effect in October were announced last June; plenty of time to enroll her on an English course to help her study for the LitUK test and her B1 exam before she'd need to take them for her ILR application in December 2013. (B1 is not difficult, see here, and only speaking and listening is required.)

Though I'd have thought you would have sorted some form of English course for her as soon as possible after her arrival. There was no language requirement for ILR or citizenship when my wife came to the UK; but we did obtain English lessons at our local college for her; as surely any sensible person would have done if their immigrant spouse can't speak, read or write English particularly well! As the class full of other immigrants attending the same course testified.

How did you expect her to find work if her English was as poor as you make out above?

How did you expect her to fully understand the LitUK test materials if her standard of English was as poor as you make out?

Trying to learn an entire question bank is always the most difficult way of passing any exam; even if one is a native speaker of the language they are set in. Far better to learn the actual facts. That way one should be able to answer any question in the actual exam, no matter how it is phrased.

BTW, you did not need to Google to find the TSO link to purchasing the new handbook; it's right there on the Lit UK test website!

(Edit, just checked, and the announcementdoes contain a link to the demonstrating KOL page which does give a link to both the old and the new handbooks. So not that difficult to find!)

The UKBA site is not as good as it could be, though I haven't had difficulties with broken links, just confusing headings which can make it difficult to find what you are looking for. However, whenever changes are made they do always issue press releases; not their fault if the newspapers and broadcasters feel that they don't wish to publicise them every time.

Edited January 28, 2013 by 7by7

[Jay Sata]

Jay Sata, in a previous article, you were considered by another member of this forum to be prejudiced and the respondent questioned the source of your prejudice. May I suggest the Daily Mail like many others doesn't address more important issues, like in a period where public services are being massively cut-back, why doesn't this article question the cost of this review in the citizenship test in FTE and why it doesn't look deeper.

The answer may be alarming when it is reported by an independent review of the UKBA (2013) that the 14,000 'requests for reconsideration', that the UKBA was under no legal obligation to consider them. I would summise from this, it is likely the case may have been made at the time to allocate resources to another area, rather than deal with the problem of mounting appeals. However, by allocating funds to a consultant (UKBA, 2013) it is now recommended that Capita is given the contract to deal with this Migration pool. Does this newspaper question the procurement of this contract, the cost of the citizenship review, why the UKBA still does not employ a chief officer and most importantly, why UKBA was not under an obligation or had resources to resolve the appeals

Sorry,I should have quoted

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/quiz/2013/jan/27/british-citizenship-test-quiz-new

where you can try some questions

And http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/9829808/Can-you-pass-the-British-immigration-exam.html

Yours JS and married to a Thai for 13 years!

[phomthai]

Manic week....

Having re-read my post I can see how some may have misinterpreted my “rant” and what I was trying to say, apologies...guess that’s what happens when you write in the heat of the moment..

My point about the ESOL with citizenship should have read that from an ILR application point of view it would have been a waste for Mrs P...I agree that any English course in itself is not a waste of time & effort and we all actively encourage Mrs P to practice her English at every opportunity.

Mrs P enrolled on an ESOL course, run by the local council, in Jan-12 and yes she does struggle at times but that’s true, I would think, for anyone learning a new language. Different people learn different skill sets at different speeds, all part of being human. On the whole her English is very good; she’s just shy and at times lacks confidence in her own abilities.

We took the conscious decision when she arrived that we were not going to rush things, we had 2 years & (thought) we knew exactly what she needed to do for ILR and certainly did not want to fall in to the common trap of leaving it all to the last minute. Surely they wouldn’t retrospectively change the rules? How naive of us...

Mrs P studied hard to ensure that she fully understood all of the LIUK material, not just rely on the practice questions. She then sat the test when we felt she was ready for it. She only just failed and we’ve taken positives from that. I remain amazed at her LIUK knowledge and suspect it’s her nerves that got the better of her.

She has a fantastic support network, both Thai & Farang, and I am confident that she’ll pass next time but I’m not the one who has to sit the test, she is and frankly she could do without the added pressure of less than 8 weeks left of the old test that she’s been studying. The other evening she said “Maybe better I go back to Thailand!”...NO, NO & NO!

Throughout all of this we’ve got on with our normal everyday life just like any other newly married couple. She got a part time job, started learning to drive, planning a family and has successfully adapted to life in an alien country after 34 years living solely in Thailand. I’m incredibly proud of what she’s achieved in just 13 months....amazing really when you look back!

Last summer the new LIUK book was expected in the autumn but it didn’t arrive until the end of Jan-13...so that’s 3-4 months late. And in that time how many decided to start studying the old text so as to get started as, after all. who knew when the new text would finally be introduced?

And I naively thought they’d have at least a 3 month transition period...time enough for those already studying the old text to sit & pass whilst those who had not started would simply start with the new text.

Could be argued that UKBA are effectively implying that immigrants can start their study and pass the new test all in less than 8 weeks....really? And why the rush? I suspect there'll be a drop off in the numbers taking the test in from 25 March through to May compared with previous run rates.

As for the link why not put a direct link on the announcement to the new book? How hard would that be, the announcement is really about the new book not the test itself so surely a direct link to said book would have been just as useful rather than leaving Joe Public to hunt around on the link they gave?

For those who use the UKBA website almost on a daily basis, some as part of their job, they no doubt bookmark the common pages they need/use and are used to its quirks, terminology, confusing headings etc. But most of us probably use the website only occasionally and it can be a struggle to find the right information. That’s certainly true of all of those we’ve spoken to.

We had a broken link in Mrs P’s spouse visa application and have come across others since.

Even trying to book the test is a bit confusing...

So you’re in “Booking the test” and who would have thought that you have to click on “Register for a Life in the UK account” to actually book a test when you’ve already got a registered account...?? So you then naturally try clicking on the “Book a Test” link on the left hand side which takes you to the page you’re already on...<deleted>? So scroll down looking for the link to book a test and hey presto there’s a “...book your test... “ lurking in the narrative....but actually all you needed to do was click on the “Register for a Life in the UK account” link even though you’re already a registered user...nice!

If you use it every day you’re gonna know that but most of us probably don’t....

BTW on Monday I spoke with the ESOL course administrator @ Mrs P’s college and, somewhat surprisingly, she didn’t know about the rule changes, despite saying that they are in regular contact with the Home Office and UKBA...Just goes to show....

My real annoyance is that the rules have been changed retrospectively but hey that’s life so we have to accept it.

And that’s why, having learnt the hard way, I strongly recommend that individuals themselves keep FULLY up to date with the (retrospectively changing) ILR requirements and I pity those on the 5 year route...what fun & games they’ll have!

[Hedghog]

They should make it a lot harder.

The country is flooded with immigrants true brits are becoming a minority.

[phomthai]

They should make it a lot harder.

The country is flooded with immigrants true brits are becoming a minority.

So who do you think "true brits”are...those who arrived with William back in 1066? Or back to good old Anglo Saxon times? Or maybe those who fought the Romans? Or let’s go back further to the Stone Age maybe?

End of the day all “true brits” are immigrants...

[theoldgit]

So who do you think "true brits”are...those who arrived with William back in 1066? Or back to good old Anglo Saxon times? Or maybe those who fought the Romans? Or let’s go back further to the Stone Age maybe?

End of the day all “true brits” are immigrants...

Great Britain, or to use the proper title, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, wasn't formed until the 1700's.

Maybe a question for the new test

[Jay Sata]

They should make it a lot harder.

The country is flooded with immigrants true brits are becoming a minority.

That's a bit unfair hedgehog. The point of the test is so that immigrants can integrate and get a job.

The financial barriers that have been introduced are to prevent a lot of economic migrants who want to take advantage of the welfare

state.

In the past it was common for men from India and Pakistan to undergo an arranged marriage in their home country and bring a non English

speaking spouse to the UK who was never going to integrate. That has now ended.

It appears Mrs Phomthai is working hard to pass the test and sounds like she has really made an effort to settle in the UK.

My best wishes to her.

If you go in to some of the care homes in the UK you'll find hard working immigrants doing the jobs the work shy Brits won't take.