The English language requirement has been raised to B2 — and this is how you prove it

Anyone looking into the Skilled Worker visa finds everywhere online that the language requirement is "B1, roughly secondary-school English". That was true — until 8 January 2026. Since then the visa requires B2 on the European language scale, in all four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Only whoever already held the visa before that date and is extending it may still make do with B1. Every site that quotes B1 for new applicants is out of date.

For most Dutch people B2 is achievable — it's the level of being able to follow and take part in a work meeting fluently — but it is not a formality. The speaking and writing parts fail more candidates than they expect, precisely because they don't prepare for the format of the test.

Dutch citizens are not exempt

The exemption list contains only majority-English-speaking countries — Australia, Canada, the US, Malta and a row of Caribbean states. The Netherlands isn't on it. That your English is fluent doesn't count; you have to prove it, in one of these ways:

1. A SELT — a Secure English Language Test with a provider approved by the Home Office. From the Netherlands those are IELTS for UKVI, LanguageCert, PSI (Skills for English) and Pearson (PTE Academic UKVI). Note: only the UKVI variant of these tests counts — an ordinary IELTS result, however good, is not accepted. A result is valid for two years.
2. A degree taught in English. A Dutch master's that was entirely in English can count — but then Ecctis (the British qualification recognition agency) must confirm, for a fee, that the programme is equivalent to a British degree and was taught in English. For many Dutch academics this is the cheapest route, but start on it in good time.
3. A British qualification — GCSE, A-level or a British degree. Not applicable for most Dutch people.

Plan the test early

The language requirement looks like a detail next to the job hunt, but it sits on the critical path: no proof, no application, and test plus result easily take two to six weeks. Book the test as soon as the applications get serious — the result is valid for two years, so too early hardly exists. And deliberately choose one provider and practise its format: the differences between IELTS and PTE in set-up and pace are bigger than the difference in level they measure.

One consolation: the language requirement applies to the main applicant. For the dependant visa of your partner and children, GOV.UK does list a relationship, funds and identity requirement, but no language requirement.