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Comment by jamiethompson | Hacker News Reader

That kind of thing is unfortunately the norm here in the UK too.

Could you explain that ?

The UK citizenship authority accepts most major accredited english language certifications and or a university degree as proof of english language proficiency. The only tests are for lay of the land/law/society, not language proficiency.

> "The only tests are for lay of the land/law/society, not language proficiency."

Not sure what your sources are, but as part of UK Citizen application, you absolutely have to do English language proficiency tests in some circumstances. The Pearson test is one of the recognised tests.

I said that they accept a very wide range of certifications and you can pretty much select the one that suits you, this is my source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-apply...

In addition to my self having gone through the Citizenship process recently. Additionally several native nationalities have an exception: https://www.gov.uk/english-language/exemptions

I thought it was clear (since I quoted it) that I was responding to the claim that there are no English language proficiency tests as part of the UK Citizenship tests as not being correct. In some circumstances there are (e.g. Your degree is not in English and you are not from a recognized English speaking country). Not sure what is contentious about that statement of fact?

I believe cannonpr meant that no English language proficiency tests were required to be taken as part of the citizenship tests, as they accept a large number of qualifications (and thus only need to take the test if you do not hold one of these qualifications). So while you might have to take a test, it is separate from the UK citizenship tests.

For immigration purposes you will definitely need to do an English language test. A lot of these tests, language and otherwise, are actually done at private companies. As long as they are accredited with the government they can administer it.

I once heard of an American who's degree from Princeton didn't count, because the certificate was in Latin.

I meant important public services being farmed out to incompetent private suppliers is the norm.

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