What’s a good plan to study for the Life in the UK test? When I was faced with this task a few months ago, I knew starting with the official book would work. But from there, I was eager to have any advice from someone who had passed the first time. This is why I have produced a blog post and YouTube video on the Sunny News. Hopefully it will help you or someone you know planning to study for the Life in the UK test.
Below you will also find access to the 44 pages of notes (size 16 font) that you can download to make your test preparation faster and easier!
If you are planning to take this test for an Indefinite Leave to Remain Visa or UK citizenship, you will need to pass the Life in the UK test. As you can imagine from all the ‘horror stories’ of possible questions, it is not super easy. Well, that is if you don’t study the right way.
Study Advice for Life in the UK Test- Steps to Prepare
In the YouTube video I give details of my timeline for studying for the Life in UK Test. First you will need the official book recommended by my London based UK immigration solicitor, which is what the government publishes.
Currently, you should use the 3rd edition (as of March 2019). Be sure to verify that a new edition has not been published.
At the very least you should register to take the test 2 months prior to your visa expiring, and I explain why in the video. However, I also feel that even though the plan I made up worked for me, I cut it too close and had extra anxiety about some pressure to pass the first time.
Aside from reading the book thoroughly, you will want to take practice Life in the UK tests online. Without a doubt this is the best website I can recommend.
Next you will want to make notes of key facts, dates and names that are difficult for you.
Download My Notes
If you are like me and prefer to use paper notes with just the key points that could be asked on the exam, then use my notes! This Life in the UK Test- Study Notes PDF file includes 44 pages of notes that you can easily cut and make in to index cards. It follows the order of the study book and it took me 7 hours to create as a Life in the UK Test strategy.
Study Advice for Life in the UK Test- Test Centre
I took my test in North London and chose a location that Mr. Sunny, my husband who was born a UK citizen and has lived in London his entire life, could drive me to. The last thing I wanted to worry about the morning of my test was train delays causing me to miss it.
There was no parking at the test location, so he dropped me off and parked up as close as he could. Aside from my nerves, the experience was fairly simple. All the details are in the video.
Because I planned on paying for and scheduling the Life in the UK Test one month before I would take it, I was able to choose a Saturday test date. While it made for a really lame Friday evening before the test, I did not have to miss a day of work for it.
Study Advice for Life in the UK Test- Immigration Solicitor
Most of my advice for how to study came from the advice of the solicitor with whom I have worked since 2012. QC Immigration has guided me through the following visas:
- Fiance Visa (read about my visa nightmare due to a hurricane and change in the process)
- Spouse Visa
- Spouse Renewal Visa
- Indefinite Leave to Remain (received March 2019)
As of this blog post, QC Immigration has a 100% success rate, so I highly recommend them. In fact, even though I had received three previous visas without any application issues we could control, I chose to have them review my Indefinite Leave to Remain application before I submitted it, just in case I missed something.
On the day I applied through the expedited visa process, there was actually a problem with my document upload that triggered a query from the Home Office regarding my application. I wasn’t as nervous when it happened because QC Immigration had shared their knowledge of what had happened to some of their other clients in the government’s new ILR visa process.
All was resolved through a fast email within an hour.
Life in the UK Test- Final Thoughts
If you would be interested in my Indefinite Leave to Remain visa application that I paid to expedite, let me know in the comments below. Also, based on the conversations I had with QC Immigration on the current political situation in the UK and US I will soon publish a blog post on the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa. Apparently, it is rapidly increasing in popularity with Americans. QC Immigration can answer many of your questions and has excellent experience preparing people for it.
Finally, if you recently had to study for the Life in the UK Test and passed on the first try like me, please leave your suggestions either on the YouTube video comments or below.
I have quite a few other blog posts on the visa experience, which may be of interest and am always eager to create new articles or videos based on what you need! Do you think a video on the types of questions I had would be helpful?
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