Life in the UK Test

Practice for the Life in the UK Test — 24 questions, 45 minutes, 75% to pass — chapter by chapter and as full mock tests.

Values, principles and what the UK isWhat the UK is: geography and population Becoming a British citizen: the test, the application and the ceremony Values, principles and what the UK is

A long and illustrious historyHistory: the Middle Ages, 1066–1485 History: Tudor and Stuart people History: ideas, inventions and empire, 1660–1900 History: modern Britain, 1918–2013 History: early Britain to 1066

A modern, thriving societyLeisure, landmarks and British inventions Sport in the UK: people and records The British year: more customs and festivals People of the UK: languages, accents and faiths Flags, saints and symbols of the UK

The UK government, the law and your roleVoting and taking part in politics Everyday life: health, schools, housing and consumer rights Devolution: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland The Crown and the UK in the world Government and politics

Mock testsMock test 4 Mock test 5 Mock test 6 Mock test 1 Mock test 2

What the test is, in numbers

24 questions, 45 minutes, and you must score 75% or more to pass. That is 18 correct out of 24 — you can afford six wrong answers and no more.
£50, booked online at least 3 days in advance, at one of more than 30 test centres.
Unlimited retakes. If you fail you can rebook as many times as you need, and you pay each time.
Required if you are applying for British citizenship or for settlement (indefinite leave to remain). You are exempt if you are under 18 or 65 or over, if you have already passed it, or if you have a long-term physical or mental condition — the last of those needs medical evidence.

Take the ID rules seriously. You must bring the same ID you used to book, and it must be the original document, not a copy or a photograph of one. A photo of you is taken at the centre. Turn up with the wrong ID, or refuse the photo, and you will not sit the test and you will not get your £50 back.

The English requirement is separate, and people miss this

Passing the Life in the UK Test does not satisfy the English language requirement. They are two different conditions and you need both.

For citizenship or settlement at 18 or over you must also show English at CEFR level B1 or above — through an approved speaking-and-listening qualification, or a degree taught or researched in English. Wrong qualification, refused application.

Which means the sensible order is: sort out the English evidence first, because it takes longer and more can go wrong with it, then book the test.

What the questions come from

There is exactly one syllabus: the official handbook, Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents, third edition. Everything in the test comes from it and nothing comes from outside it — which is unusually helpful, because it means the material is finite and you can know when you have finished.

Get the official handbook. It is a real book, sold by the official shop and widely available second-hand, and no practice site replaces it, including this one. What practice does is find the parts you think you know and do not.

How this track is organised

Four sections cover the handbook's five chapters in twenty-five sets of questions — the values and principles of the UK together with what the UK is, its geography and the citizenship process; then the history, period by period from early Britain to modern Britain; modern British society, from flags, saints and the festivals of the year to languages, faiths, the arts, sport and landmarks; and the government and the law, including devolution, the Crown, voting in practice and everyday public services — plus six full mock tests in the real format: 24 questions, a mixed selection, 18 to pass. Mock tests 1 to 3 reuse questions from the chapter sets; mock tests 4 to 6 are new questions and include 'choose two' and 'which statement is true' items.

Work through the chapters first and the mock tests after, leaving mocks 4 to 6 until last. Chapter revision tells you which chapter is weak; a mock test tells you whether you would pass today, and those are different questions.

What is hard about this test, and what is not

The history chapter is where most people lose marks, and it is not because the history is difficult. It is because the chapter covers two thousand years in perhaps sixty pages, at a fairly even level of detail, so there is no natural shape to hang it on: a date from the Roman occupation and a date from the twentieth century get the same weight. Dates, names and numbers are what the questions ask for.

The rest is more forgiving. The values chapter is short. The government chapter is mostly systems you can reason about once you understand how the pieces fit. The society chapter is largely a matter of recognising names and institutions.

A note on what is not here

Questions whose answer depends on who currently holds office — the monarch, the Prime Minister — are deliberately left out. Those answers change, and a practice question with a fixed key would eventually be teaching you something out of date. The handbook is the syllabus; check the current edition for how it treats them.

Official sources

Booking, fee and centres: gov.uk — Life in the UK Test
The pass mark, ID rules and what happens on the day: gov.uk — what happens at the test
The separate English requirement: gov.uk — prove your knowledge of English
Applying for citizenship: gov.uk — becoming a British citizen
The official handbook and e-learning: Official Life in the UK Learning

Zestly is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with the Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration, TSO or any official test provider, and nothing here is immigration advice. The questions and explanations are written by Zestly from publicly known facts; no text is reproduced from the official handbook, which is a separate copyrighted publication you should buy and read. Eligibility, fees, booking and the conduct of your test are matters for GOV.UK, and for an immigration adviser if you need one.

The Life in the UK Test is administered by the Home Office. Zestly is an independent study tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Home Office or any UK government body. Our questions are written by us from publicly available information and reproduce nothing from the official handbook, which is Crown copyright. This is study help, not legal or immigration advice.