New PTE Academic Requirement for Tier 4 UK Student Visas

As part of an ongoing series of structural changes and reforms, the agency responsible for overseeing international student visa applications in the United Kingdom, the UK Border Agency (otherwise known as the UBA), has published new minimum score requirements for applicants taking the PTE Academic exam. These changes, along with the elimination of the Post-Work Study program and more restrictions about the the circumstances under which students and their dependents can work while living in the UK, stand to have a dramatic impact on international students.

The result of recent discussions between Pearson and the UKBA, these changes will lower the score students must demonstrate to meet Tier 4 visa requirements. In fact, beginning July 8th 2011 students pursuing the Tier 4 visa can use the newly updated criteria to satisfy the UKBA’s requirement for English proficiency.

Now student must achieve a PTE Academic score of at least 36 across all four the exam’s skill groups to earn a B1 proficiency certification. At the same time, students must achieve a PTE Academic score of at least 51 across all four sections to earn a B2 proficiency certification based on the Common European Framework. Higher certification levels, of course, remain valid.

Importantly, the UKBA will retroactively accept test scores which meet the new criteria. Because PTE Academic scores are valid for up to two years, this means that any test result that satisfies the new requirements is likewise now eligible for consideration., irrespective of when the test was taken. This includes test scores submitted to the UKBA before Friday 8 July 2011, provided that the score report is still valid. Applicants that have already submitted their scores to the UKBA online do not need to do so again but they will need to print the score report and send it with their visa application. For more information on these changes, please visit the Pearson.