I am about to apply for a UK Skilled Worker visa.
For that I need to prove proficiency in English, and I chose Pearson as one of the designated providers of English tests. Pearson provides, among others, the following two tests:
- PTE Home B1 (cheaper, takes about 30 minutes),
- PTE Academic UKVI (more expensive, takes about 3 hours).
Question: Is passing a PTE Home B1 test sufficient for a Skilled Worker visa application?
Given all the circumstances (costs, duration, but also the date and location of the tests) I would really prefer to go with PTE Home B1 if possible.
I find that there is contradictory information around on this.
GOV.UK states that they accept PTE Home tests, and that a Skilled Worker visa application requires a proof of proficiency on level B1. However, the first statement appears on a site not specific to the a Skilled Worker visa, and could as well mean that some visa types allow a PTE Home test (e.g. spouse visa require only PTE Home A1). The Skilled Worker specific site is not talking about PTE Home.
Pearson recommends PTE Academic UKVI for this kind of visa.
I have contacted several parties with this question:
- The UK Visa and Immigration International Contact Center replied with a generic answer copied from here (the same link as above), not explicitly talking about the Skilled Worker visa or PTE Home B1. They says, Yes, PTE Home is okay, but the wording gives me doubt about their understanding of my specific question.
- The HR Immigration Support Team at my future working place replied that I need the PTE Academic UKVI, but gave no further reason. Note that they do not care about any tests themselves (i.e. I do not have to prove my language abilities to them), but they only care about me having the visa.
- Pearson themselves replied with a generic copy from their FAQ, stating that PTE Academic is appropriate. I consider this a non-answer, because it says nothing about whether PTE Home B1 is suitable or not. Given that they make a profit of selling more expensive tests, I am skeptical about this answer.