In a post on 6 March 2026 Richmond Chambers’ Immigration Barristers unpacked a reform hidden in the latest rule changes: from 26 March 2027 most economic migrants will need to prove English at CEFR level B2 – two bands higher than today’s B1 – when applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). The increase affects Skilled-Worker, Scale-up, Global Talent, Global Business Mobility, Sportsperson and UK Ancestry migrants, among others. For global employers, that means staff arriving this spring on five-year assignments will fall under the new, tougher requirement when their settlement window opens. Companies relying on internal language testing should check whether existing programmes map accurately to CEFR descriptors; if not, employees may have to take an approved Secure English Language Test (SELT) at a UKVI centre. Because the rule change is prospective, talent-acquisition leaders have a 12-month window to embed English-upskilling into mobility budgets. Language providers report a 40 % surge in corporate enquiries since the Home Office announcement. Failure to pass B2 could extend an assignee’s sponsored status, costing sponsors an extra £624 per person per year in Immigration Health Surcharge alone. The rule maintains current exemptions for graduates of majority-English-speaking universities and for the Innovator Founder visa, which already requires B2 on entry. Notably, the Home Secretary confirmed in a late-night statement that the British National (Overseas) route remains at B1, easing concerns among Hong Kong communities.
