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The IND has announced that from 23 August anyone applying for entry clearance to the UK as a Minister of Religion will need to provide evidence that they speak English.
If it is not clear from an entry clearance application that the individual certainly speaks English, applicants will have to provide an IELTS certificate showing that they have achieved a band score of at least 4 in spoken English. The certificate should not be more than two years old at the date of making the entry clearance application.
In cases where it is obvious that English is their first language or if they have been educated in a school where English was the primary language of instruction then it will not be necessary to produce an IELTS certificate.
Furthermore, in religious faiths where ordination is not required as the only way of entering the ministry, applicants are required to have worked for at least one year as a Minister of Religion when applying for entry clearance. From 23 August, the 12 months employment as a Minister of Religion may have been during any of the five years immediately prior to the date of the entry clearance application.
The International English Language Testing System examinations can be taken at many test centres around the world for a fee.
