ILTR + Life in the UK Test

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and a Canadian settled (unmarried) with my British partner. Don't mind if I have a small moan before I ask my questions. I've been getting stressed just thinking about the huge fees - up to £700 for the application and £750 just for the Home Office fees. And you must pay £10 for a book to take a Life in the UK test which costs up to £34. It's an outrage! (yes, I'm a Mighty Boosh fan)

My first question: Is the fees for applying for Indefinate Leave to Remain correct? It may seem like a silly question, 'cos I keep thinking it can't be right.

And wondering if has anyone taken this Life in the UK test. Tests. Ugh. Aside from that, I'm told I must make an appointment to do this test, and pass the test before I even apply for ILTR. But the information I was given doesn't say where and how.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi,
Try the government website.
I am new here so I can't place a link here, so you can try the home office website and click on "UK residency"
I have checked the relevant fee now and it is £750. I paid less than half that price for me and for my wife 15 months ago.
Regarding the Test, I am not aware that you should pay £10 to book a test. I would recommend trying a new centre. To find a test centre try the web page uklifetest and click find the nearest centre.
Hope this helps.

Hi,

That the price has jumped from less than £375 to £750 in 15 months is unbelievable. That is, I assume that is what you mean since it's not as though one can `shop' around for a better deal. can they?

I will check out the website. I'm thinking of doing it through a visa bureau but they charge £600 on top of the fee and I don't know if it would be worth it.

Thanks for the advice and feeback. Much appreciated.

This website tells you where the tests centres are: http://www.lifeintheuktest.gov.uk/. There should be one fairly local to you (mine was an hour away)

See if you can get the book from your local library - it's not worth buying if you don't have to (I borrowed one from a friend who did the test too). I know libraries have copies though too.

Oh the other thing, is you pay all that money for ILTR and then a year later you have to pay more fees to apply for citizenship (if you choose to, of course!). But you can't get citizenship without ILTR.

Hi Mari-mac,

Thank you for your advice which I've taken action on today and reserved a book at my local library.

I think I will do the process on my own rather than pay the high cost of having a visa bureau do it.can't really afford them anyway.

ps. if you happen to see this, sorry for the delayed reply!