A2 English Test for Visa Extension: What Changes

The extension is the stage people prepare for least and lose most sleep over, and the reason is structural rather than linguistic.

By the time it arrives you have lived in the UK for two and a half years. The first test feels like ancient history. And whether you need a new one at all depends on a decision you made back then, possibly without realising it was a decision.

If you want to rebuild a speaking habit before booking, SpeakShark is free with three AI conversation sessions a day and no card, each capped at five minutes and four turns.

In this guide: the three situations · the exemption trap · what A2 covers · reusing a certificate · which tests count, and where · timing · how to prepare · what we could not verify · how we researched this guide · FAQ

Key takeaways

gov.uk gives three different answers at the extension stage, depending on what you passed first time.
If you passed A1, you need at least A2 in speaking and listening.
If you passed A2 or higher, gov.uk says you can use that result again.
If you were exempt first time, gov.uk says you need a test at level A1 now.
The test is speaking and listening only. Home Office guidance says partner and parent applicants do not need reading and writing.
gov.uk splits its approved provider list by where you sit the test, so check your location before you compare providers. Trinity College London appears only under tests taken in the UK, and PSI Services with Skills for English only under tests taken outside it.
Levels change, so treat every level here as the level gov.uk stated when we checked and confirm it on gov.uk at your own application date.

The three situations gov.uk sets out

gov.uk puts this under its own heading, applying to extend your visa after 2.5 years, and says that what you need to do depends on what CEFR level you passed for your first visa.

What you passed first time	What gov.uk says you need now
Level A1	Pass at least level A2 in speaking and listening
A2, B1, B2, C1 or C2	Reuse that result, if the certificate has not been withdrawn
You were exempt	Pass a test at level A1

The same levels appear in a second place, and it is worth knowing both exist. gov.uk publishes a route to level table called "English language requirement levels for immigration applications", dated 8 January 2026, whose family visa row reads A1 if this is your first application and A2 if you are applying to extend your stay. It also publishes per route guidance on the family visa pages themselves. Neither replaces the other, so read both for your own route, and read them again on the day you apply, because levels do change and sometimes with a future start date.

Read the middle row carefully, because it is the one that rewards a decision made years earlier.

gov.uk states on the same page that you can choose to take a higher level test than the minimum at your first application. Anybody who did that, and passed A2 or above, arrives at the extension with nothing to book and nothing to pay. Anybody who took the minimum sits another test.

That is not a trick. It is published policy, and it is the single clearest way to save yourself money and stress in this process. Our guide to the UK spouse visa English requirement covers the full three stage picture if you are earlier in the route.

The exemption trap

This is the row that catches people, and it catches them badly because it feels counterintuitive.

gov.uk states that if you were given an exemption, you will need to pass a test at level A1.

An exemption at the first application is not a permanent release from the requirement. Somebody exempt at the start can spend two and a half years believing the English requirement never applied to them, then discover at the extension that it does, with no certificate and no test booked.

If that describes you, the useful move is to find out now rather than at submission. Read the exemption section on gov.uk for your own circumstances, and if you were exempt, plan for an A1 test at this stage.

What A2 actually covers

A2 is a CEFR level, one step above A1. For this route the test covers speaking and listening only.

gov.uk's SELT guidance splits routes into two lists. One needs a test that assesses your speaking and listening abilities, and partner, parent, settlement and citizenship all sit in that list. The other, covering work and study routes such as Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker and Student, needs a four skill test.

Home Office caseworker guidance is blunter: an applicant in the partner or parent routes does not need to demonstrate reading and writing skills.

So there is no essay and no comprehension passage. The whole thing rests on a short spoken exchange, which changes what preparation should look like. Our guide to the UK settlement English test goes into that format in more detail.

Reusing a certificate you already have

Three conditions have to hold, and all three come from gov.uk's own wording.

The level has to be A2 or above. A1 does not carry forward to the extension.

The certificate must not have been withdrawn by the test provider. gov.uk says this explicitly, and it is not hypothetical: providers do withdraw certificates.

The qualification must still be on the approved list. Approved lists change over time, so a certificate that was valid when issued is not automatically valid now.

If all three hold, gov.uk says you can use the test result again for your application. Check the current approved list on gov.uk rather than assuming.

One stage further on, gov.uk's family visa page says that if you pass level B1 or higher, you can use your test result again when you apply for settlement after 5 years. Note what that sentence is: permission to reuse a result, not a statement of what the settlement application itself requires. The requirement sits on a separate gov.uk English language page, which lists an English qualification at B1, B2, C1 or C2 level and frames it around being 18 or over and applying for citizenship or to settle in the UK. Both pages are worth reading before you decide what level to sit now, and worth reading again when settlement is actually in front of you.

Which tests count, and where you can sit them

Start with location, not brand. gov.uk splits its approved provider list under two headings, one for tests taken in the UK and one for tests taken outside the UK, and the two lists are not identical. A test that is approved is only useful to you if it is approved in the place you will actually sit it.

Provider	Products gov.uk names	Where gov.uk lists it
IELTS SELT Consortium	IELTS for UKVI, IELTS Life Skills	In the UK and outside the UK
LanguageCert	International ESOL SELT, Academic SELT, General SELT	In the UK and outside the UK
Pearson	PTE Academic UKVI, PTE Home	In the UK and outside the UK
PSI Services UK	Skills for English UKVI	Outside the UK only
Trinity College London	Integrated Skills in English (ISE), Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE)	In the UK only

That split has a practical shape in this route. A first family visa application is normally made from outside the UK, while an extension is normally made from inside it, so the menu in front of you at this stage is not the menu you had at the first one. If you are extending from inside the UK, Trinity is on your list and Skills for English UKVI is not. If you are applying from abroad, the reverse holds, and no amount of enthusiasm for the Trinity format changes that. Our guide to which English test to take for a UK visa compares the providers in more detail.

So the usual advice, that any approved test at the right level works and you should choose on availability and price, is only true after the location check. Location first, then level, then availability, format and price.

Life Skills is a brand, not a rule. People search for it as though it were the required test, but gov.uk lists it as one option among several.

Formats differ in ways that matter. Trinity's GESE is a live one to one speaking and listening examination with an examiner, and it is available to you only if you are sitting your test in the UK. LanguageCert states that its speaking exams are carried out by a real person online, and it appears under both of gov.uk's location headings. If you froze in front of an examiner last time, that is worth choosing on, within whatever your location leaves you.

One caution. When we checked provider sites, at least one approved provider's own visa requirements page listed a level for a work route that gov.uk had already changed. Provider pages lag policy. gov.uk decides your application.

The mistake is usually timing, not English

After two and a half years living in the UK, most applicants on this route have more than enough English for A2. The failures we would expect to see cluster somewhere else entirely.

Booking too late. A result you do not yet hold is not evidence. If the first attempt goes badly there needs to be room for a second inside your window.

Assuming the old certificate works. See the three conditions above.

Assuming the exemption persists. See the trap above.

Comparing providers before checking location. gov.uk approves a different set of providers for tests taken in the UK and for tests taken outside it, so a shortlist built from a comparison article can contain an option you cannot use from where you are.

Letting the speaking go rusty. This is the quiet one. Living in an English speaking country is not the same as speaking English daily, particularly for somebody at home with family, working in a first language environment, or in a role with little conversation. The test is a live spoken exchange, and fluency that has not been used in two years does not arrive on demand.

How to prepare when you already live here

Book first, then prepare. The constraint is the calendar, not the curriculum. Find the date, then work backwards.
Speak daily rather than study. There is no reading or writing component, so revision converts badly. Practising English speaking alone covers the days nobody is available.
Rehearse ordinary functions. Answering personal questions, describing something, responding to what somebody just said. Daily use English sentences and English conversation topics for adults give you material.
Consider going above A2. gov.uk lets you take a higher level test, and its family visa page says that if you pass B1 or higher you can use that result again when you apply for settlement after 5 years. If you are close, one test now can save you a test later.
Fix clarity, not accent. Being understood the first time is the bar. Six pronunciation fixes in fourteen days and reducing mother tongue influence target it.
Treat nerves separately. Overcoming the fear of speaking English and building confidence in English address the part that fails on the day, and you can start a free session for low stakes reps.

Not sure where you stand after a few years away from formal English? Test your English speaking level free before you book, and why your English speaking is not improving is worth reading if living here has not moved it.

What we could not verify

We are not reproducing the exemption list. gov.uk publishes it, the wording varies between the documents we read, and an exemption you assume you have and do not is expensive.

We are not publishing fees or booking lead times. Only third party figures were visible, and lead times vary by country and centre.

We are not ranking the approved tests by difficulty. No provider publishes comparable pass data, and a test that suits one applicant's nerves punishes another's.

We are not publishing candidate volumes. The figures in circulation cover more than SELT exams, so they say nothing useful about these tests.

We have not reproduced any test content.

We do state the levels gov.uk states, because leaving a reader to guess at them is worse. Every level above is quoted from gov.uk as it stood when we checked, and gov.uk governs at the date you apply rather than the date we wrote. Requirements change, sometimes with a future start date, and when we checked provider sites at least one approved provider's page was already stale against gov.uk. Read gov.uk for your own route and your own application date.

How we researched this guide

The three extension situations, the A2 speaking and listening requirement, the reuse conditions, the exemption rule and the wording that a B1 or higher result can be used again at settlement after 5 years all come from gov.uk's family visa knowledge of English page. The route to level table, dated 8 January 2026, comes from gov.uk's published English language requirement levels document, whose family visa row gives A1 for a first application and A2 for an extension. The qualification levels of B1, B2, C1 or C2 for people aged 18 or over applying for citizenship or to settle come from gov.uk's separate English language page. The split between speaking and listening routes and four skill routes comes from gov.uk's SELT guidance, and so does the approved provider list, which that guidance presents under two headings, one for applicants in the UK and one for applicants outside the UK. We took the location column in the table above from those two headings rather than from any provider. The statement that partner and parent applicants do not need reading and writing comes from Home Office caseworker guidance.

Provider formats come from Trinity's and LanguageCert's own pages. We checked those separately and found at least one provider page listing a level gov.uk had already changed, which is why this guide sends you to gov.uk for the level itself.

Practise speaking, from SpeakShark

SpeakShark is an AI English speaking practice app, and it is our pick for this stage because of what usually goes wrong at it. The English is rarely the problem after two and a half years in the country. What fades is the habit of speaking under pressure to somebody who is assessing you, and the only fix is producing unscripted speech regularly before the date. You talk, the AI answers what you actually said, and you get speaking feedback while the conversation is still going. The free tier gives basic feedback; the detailed pronunciation and grammar breakdown is on Premium.

Start free with three sessions a day and no card, each free session capped at five minutes and four turns. Paid sessions run ten minutes with unlimited turns. Limits are on the pricing page, and how it works walks through a full session.

We are a speaking improvement tool. We are not an exam preparation provider, not an immigration adviser, and we are not affiliated with the Home Office, Trinity College London, LanguageCert, Pearson, PSI Services, the IELTS SELT Consortium or any exam board. For test format, booking and official practice material, go to the exam body directly, and for the level your visa route requires, read gov.uk. Use SpeakShark to make your spoken English stronger, and use official material to learn the test.

Site: speakshark.com
Support: speaksharksupport@gmail.com
Free tier: 3 AI conversation sessions per day, no card

Sources

gov.uk, family visa knowledge of English: the three extension situations, the A2 requirement, the reuse conditions, the exemption rule and the B1 reuse wording for settlement
gov.uk, English language requirement levels for immigration applications: the route to level table dated 8 January 2026
gov.uk, prove your English with a SELT: the speaking and listening route list, and the approved providers listed separately for applicants in the UK and outside the UK
gov.uk, English language: the B1, B2, C1 or C2 qualification levels for people aged 18 or over applying for citizenship or to settle
Home Office, English language requirement for family members: partner and parent applicants do not need reading and writing
Trinity College London, GESE: the live one to one speaking and listening format

FAQ

Do I need an A2 English test to extend my UK family visa?

It depends on what you passed the first time, and gov.uk sets out three situations. If you passed level A1, you will need to pass at least level A2 in speaking and listening. If you passed A2, B1, B2, C1 or C2, you can use that result again as long as the certificate has not been withdrawn by the test provider. And if you were given an exemption first time round, gov.uk says you will need to pass a test at level A1.

What does A2 speaking and listening actually mean?

It is a CEFR level, one step above the A1 required for a first application, and for this route it covers speaking and listening only. gov.uk's SELT guidance puts partner and parent applications in the list needing a test that assesses your speaking and listening abilities, and Home Office caseworker guidance states that applicants on those routes do not need to demonstrate reading and writing skills.

I was exempt from the first English test. Do I still need one to extend?

Yes, and this is the situation that catches people out. gov.uk states plainly that if you were given an exemption, you will need to pass a test at level A1. An exemption at the first application defers the requirement rather than removing it, so somebody who assumed the whole thing was behind them can arrive at the extension stage with no test and no time to sit one.

Can I reuse my old English test certificate?

If it was A2 or above, gov.uk says you can use the test result again for your application, provided the test certificate has not been withdrawn by the test provider and the qualification remains on the approved list. That is a real reason to take a higher level test than the minimum at the first application, because gov.uk explicitly allows you to choose a higher level.

Which tests are accepted for the A2 extension?

Check where you will sit the test before you check anything else, because gov.uk splits its approved list by location. Under its heading for tests taken in the UK it names Trinity College London, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert and Pearson. Under its heading for tests taken outside the UK it names PSI Services with Skills for English UKVI, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert and Pearson. So Trinity is an option only inside the UK and Skills for English only outside it. Life Skills is a product name rather than a requirement, so once your location has narrowed the list, choose on availability, format and price.

When should I book the extension test?

Early enough that a retake still fits inside your application window, which is the practical reason people fail this stage rather than any language reason. Test availability varies by country and centre, and a result you do not yet hold is not evidence. Check the current booking lead time with the provider you choose, and read gov.uk for what your own application needs.