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Language test must for marriage visa to Britain

LONDON: In a move said to be aimed at protecting vulnerable women from the Indian subcontinent, who come to Britain through arranged marriages and find themselves exploited because they do not know English, the British government will now insist that foreigners applying for marriage visa pass a language test.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the idea was to make sure that those who came to Britain to join their spouses were not exploited for lack of knowledge of English.

“We will introduce a new English language requirement for those applying for a marriage visa and planning to settle in the U.K. — both as part of our determination that everyone who comes here to live should be able to speak English and to make sure that they cannot be exploited.”

The announcement came barely hours after the government unveiled controversial plans to impose a tax on new migrants, and introduce a three-stage route to citizenship, which will make it more difficult to get a British passport.

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