UTIAC 1. Where, under Immigration Rules, it was required that, as an English language requirement, an individual must achieve a certain level by reference to the Common European Framework Reference (CEFR) (i.e. A1, B1, B2 etc) and the individual relies on an International English Language Test System (IELTS) test result awarded by Cambridge ESOL, that individual must necessarily rely on the relevant UKBA’s Guidance to succeed because the Rules do not state an equivalence between the IELTS test results and the levels of the CEFR.
2. The UKBA’s Guidance does not attribute any mark less than level B1 to any IELTS score and so, in practical terms, equivalence to at least B1 must be established even where the level to be achieved is A1.
3. In order to achieve a particular CEFR level, it is not enough simply to look at the individual’s overall score: the Guidance requires that at least each of the individual modules in ‘speaking’ and ‘listening’ has been assessed at the level required.
CMG Ockleton VP, Grubb UTJJ
[2013] UKUT 00306 (IAC)
Bailii
England and Wales
Immigration
Updated: 17 November 2021; Ref: scu.513575