# Life in the UK Test-New Edition...Any Tips?



## iMss2 (Sep 14, 2011)

Hi All,

I'll be taking my Life in the UK Test next month and this will be under the new test format. I got the new book & new test practice already. It seems very detailed esp on dates and names compared to the previous book and it says on the book that I have to read and study it from cover to cover :ranger: Now I'm hating myself for waiting this long as I could've taken the test last year. 

To be fair, I find the book interesting (I must be the only one saying this )...I just thought, if I'm to live permanently in this country, I might as well know everything about it. It's also useful when my my son ask for help with his history lesson  

I just want to know if there's any Expat Forum member who already went for the new test? Any tips? Advice? What section mostly appeared in the test? I'll also let you guys know what my experience will be from the test to help other members as well...

Thanks a lot!


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

iMss2 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'll be taking my Life in the UK Test next month and this will be under the new test format. I got the new book & new test practice already. It seems very detailed esp on dates and names compared to the previous book and it says on the book that I have to read and study it from cover to cover :ranger: Now I'm hating myself for waiting this long as I could've taken the test last year.
> 
> ...


The new test has only been in place for a couple of weeks so you are probably not going to get a lot of feedback.


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## A1234 (Mar 3, 2013)

Try this. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/official-life-in-uk-test-3rd/id632064672?mt=8 This is the new Life In The UK Test official app for iOS ( mainly for iPhones, iPad and iPod Touch), out on 12 Apr 2013.


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## iMss2 (Sep 14, 2011)

Thanks a lot...I've downloaded the app now  Study mode


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

Yes, the test is very new and I don't think we've seen anyone post about it yet, so if you get chance, please let us know what it is like. 

And most importantly: GOOD LUCK!!


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## arbiebarbie (Aug 4, 2013)

Hi, how did the new UK test go? I am taking it on the 15th this month abd would appreciate some tips. Many thanks.


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## sherris (Jul 30, 2013)

I took and passed the test a couple of weeks ago, and this is my approach:

1) I got the three official publications - the main book, practice tests and study guide
2) I started with one practice test to get a feel of the type of questions, level of details they go into, etc.
3) I read one chapter/small section the study guide, then the main book on the same chapter/section to reinforce my memory
4) I took another practice test after I finish a good chunk of the material, to test progress
5) Repeat until I felt confident
6) Because the questions were also multiple choices/True or False, I focused on recognizing the names/events rather than forcing myself to be able to spell every names.
7) I booked the test in the afternoon so I had the morning to read from start to finish so that my memory was nice and fresh

One thing I found particularly helpful was to google/look up names/events that are very new to me. E.g. I never watch any sports whatsoever, so I went to create a Pinterest board with all the faces of the 14(?) athletes I was supposed to remember. After going through the exercise, I remembered their names without struggle. I also saw a nice pic of the Maiden Castle, which helped illustrate the point that these little hill forts to the invading Romans.

I liked sites like the Citizenship section on the British Library website (I can't post links here) or the BBC History site (although there was far too much information, so in the end I only looked at the main section breakdown to make sure I got the timeline).

One thing the book never does is to help you connection knowledge from one section (e.g. history) to another (e.g. modern society). I found it helpful to try to figure out the links between them. E.g. Patron Saint of Ireland is St Patrick, who was also the first missionary to preach in Northern England (something like that).

Hope it helps & best of luck!!


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## arbiebarbie (Aug 4, 2013)

Very helpful, thank you. Was it what you expected it to be? Are the practice tests available online helpful at all?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

sherris said:


> Patron Saint of Ireland is St Patrick, who was also the first missionary to preach in Northern England (something like that).


He was supposed born in Britain, sold as slave to Ireland, got back home, and then returned to Ireland as missionary. He is said to have got rid of poisonous snakes and used a shamrock leaf to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity. He became the Bishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, and founded many monasteries and was known for his ascetical lifestyle. 
Perhaps you are thinking of Irish missionary saints like St Columba (who founded the monastery on the island of Iona in Scotland)


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## sherris (Jul 30, 2013)

Joppa said:


> He was supposed born in Britain, sold as slave to Ireland, got back home, and then returned to Ireland as missionary. He is said to have got rid of poisonous snakes and used a shamrock leaf to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity. He became the Bishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, and founded many monasteries and was known for his ascetical lifestyle.
> Perhaps you are thinking of Irish missionary saints like St Columba (who founded the monastery on the island of Iona in Scotland)


Sounds like an interesting character - I remember seeing bits of his story on a BBC history programme. As for the LIUK test itself, this is what we are told from the official guide (very brief info, which is consistent with the rest of this book I must say....)

"The Anglo-Saxons were not Christians when they first came to Britain but, during this period, missionaries came to Britain to preach about Christianity. Missionaries from Ireland spread the religion in the north. The most famous of these were St Patrick, who would become the patron saint of Ireland, and St Columba, who founded a monastery on the island of Iona, off the coast of what is now Scotland."


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## sherris (Jul 30, 2013)

arbiebarbie said:


> Very helpful, thank you. Was it what you expected it to be? Are the practice tests available online helpful at all?


I prefer the official practice tests because they reflect of level of details required in the actual test a lot better than other online practice tests prepared by third party publishers/companies, which sometimes get carried away with the level of "difficulty" in the test.

I don't remember seeing any questions from the practice test appearing in my actual test, but I do think it was a fair representation of the test.

By the time I finished studying, I was able to get 100% out of 5 practice tests in a row, but in the actual test I'm pretty sure I got one wrong (it was a question about whether the bank notes in Ireland is valid in England, I thought it was a trick question and choose "no"). They didn't tell me the actual score though, just that I passed.

So I think I would personally aim to get maybe 22/24 in the practice tests consistently, that should be pretty safe for passing the actual test...


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## arbiebarbie (Aug 4, 2013)

passed the exam. thanks for all the comments which helped a lot.


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## sherris (Jul 30, 2013)

Hey Congrats!! That's excellent news!


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## hanane salim (Aug 14, 2013)

Hi friends
Why do you need the Life in the UK test? Is it for getting spouse visa or just for naturalisation?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

The test is only needed when applying for settlement (usually after 5 years in UK) or for naturalisation. You don't need it for your (initial) spouse visa or for renewal after 30 months. You do need English language test pass at A1 or better if you are a Moroccan, and for settlement and naturalisation, at B1, in addition to the LITUK test.


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## arbiebarbie (Aug 4, 2013)

sherris said:


> Hey Congrats!! That's excellent news!


Thanks a lot!


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## arbiebarbie (Aug 4, 2013)

Joppa said:


> The test is only needed when applying for settlement (usually after 5 years in UK) or for naturalisation. You don't need it for your (initial) spouse visa or for renewal after 30 months. You do need English language test pass at A1 or better if you are a Moroccan, and for settlement and naturalisation, at B1, in addition to the LITUK test.


Hi, what are tests A1 and B1? Is this the ESOL qualification? I have only got the life in the UK test certificate as the other qualification mentioned isn't required if you submit your applucation before 23rd of Oct- which is when they are changing the list of requirenents.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes, English speaking and listening test.
I was responding to another question.


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## iMss2 (Sep 14, 2011)

arbiebarbie said:


> Hi, how did the new UK test go? I am taking it on the 15th this month abd would appreciate some tips. Many thanks.


Hi,

So sorry for my late reply  I got really busy with my ILR application...I wish I could've given you some tips before your test but I'm glad you passed the test 

Well for future readers, here's my advice:


Make sure that you bring the right ID during the test. It should show the exact name that you registered when you book the exam. My husband had to rebook his test (No Refund) only because of his middle name which is not mentioned in his license and he forgot to bring his passport with him.

Use the latest official book (3rd Edition) and I suggest you stick to that. Make sure that you read it from cover to cover (really!!!) Try not to read other KOL books otherwise you'll end up getting confused. All the questions will only come from that official book anyway.

Use the phone app as well for quick reading and some practice test but DON'T RELY on it. The question format there is very predictable and it can give you a false sense of what you already learned. 

When reading the book, don't take small prints for granted such as small captions on the pictures as some of them appeared on the test.

Make sure that you remember names. I know it's crazy to remember all the names there but names of few famous people are definitely on the test. Mine was a musician and I have no clue who he was so I just guessed and put him as a sports person :der: (I'm 99% sure that it's my only mistake 

I got some questions on dates, places, events & birthplace of famous people. And believe it or not, I have one question where my answer was 'potato' (I forgot what the question was but I know it's right because I checked the book right after) 

Don't stress...Take it easy! You will come across couple of hard & weird questions but I find that most of it are easy enough for people to pass as long as you read & understand the book. It's not the sort of test that's meant to fail people just for screening purposes. I think it's really educational & a sensible, useful process before ILR or Citizenship.

So Good Luck to those who will take the test and hope you find this useful! :ranger:


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## cliffbyford (Feb 8, 2012)

I'm confused, as I've received some conflicting information. My wife is a US national and has 'KOL required' on her visa. Does she therefore need to take this test before we apply for ILR, or purely if she goes down the naturalisation route at a later date?

If it helps, she received her FLR spouse visa in May 2012.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

cliffbyford said:


> I'm confused, as I've received some conflicting information. My wife is a US national and has 'KOL required' on her visa. Does she therefore need to take this test before we apply for ILR, or purely if she goes down the naturalisation route at a later date?
> 
> If it helps, she received her FLR spouse visa in May 2012.


She needs it for ILR which she must have before she can apply for naturalisation. With KOL required as soon as she takes and passes the Life in the UK test she can apply for ILR.


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## cliffbyford (Feb 8, 2012)

nyclon said:


> She needs it for ILR which she must have before she can apply for naturalisation. With KOL required as soon as she takes and passes the Life in the UK test she can apply for ILR.


Thanks very much for clarifying that. Though if she passed the KOL test sooner rather than later, surely she'd still need to wait until the 27 month probationary period is up before applying for ILR? This won't happen for us until the middle of next year.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

cliffbyford said:


> Thanks very much for clarifying that. Though if she passed the KOL test sooner rather than later, surely she'd still need to wait until the 27 month probationary period is up before applying for ILR? This won't happen for us until the middle of next year.


No. She doesn't have a probationary period. She was granted her spouse visa--it's not FLR-- under the old rules when if you were married for 4 or more years and living outside of the UK you were granted a spouse visa with KOL req. The KOL req means that once she passes the Life in the UK test she can apply for ILR. It was sort of a break that they were giving based on the length of the marriage allowing you to bypass the residency period for ILR. She can't apply for citizenship until she has lived in the UK for 3 years but she can take the Life in the UK test at anytime and once passed she can apply for ILR.


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## cliffbyford (Feb 8, 2012)

Thanks - except that we hadn't been married for four years before we applied for her visa. We did it under the old rules as you say (crept in under the tape by about two months), but at that point we hadn't been married for more than six months.

I'm assuming that as we haven't been married for the qualifying four years, different rules apply?


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