Both settlement and citizenship rest on the same practical standard — but one detail trips people up constantly: not every IELTS counts.
The English requirement sits in Appendix English Language of the Immigration Rules, and it varies slightly by route — but B1 is the benchmark cited across most settlement routes, including Skilled Worker ILR. It has to come from an approved Secure English Language Test (SELT) provider: IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert, Pearson, or Trinity College London.
Here’s the detail that catches people out: a regular academic IELTS score doesn’t count for immigration purposes. You need IELTS for UKVI specifically — the SELT version — or IELTS Life Skills if your route only needs speaking and listening. Taking the wrong version is a genuinely common, entirely avoidable mistake.
Naturalisation sits under separate legislation (the British Nationality Act, not the Immigration Rules) but lands on the same practical bar: B1 English via an approved SELT, or a degree taught in English, or exemption by nationality if you’re from a majority English-speaking country (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and a short list of others — check the full list on gov.uk).
Both routes also require the Life in the UK test — 24 multiple-choice questions, 45 minutes, £50, booked at least 3 days ahead. Pass it once and the certificate doesn’t expire, so you never retake it for a later application. Exemptions exist for under-18s, over-65s, and documented long-term medical conditions.