Butterflies in my stomach today because I have to take the “Life in the UK” test…
It used to be that if you moved to Britain and were married to a Brit, getting permanent resident status was relatively straightforward. But there are more hoops now, and this new test is one of them.
The test was introduced to make sure that immigrants like me understand the basics of UK culture and society. Not a bad idea, in theory. But in practice it all falls apart, because many questions are so arcane that many people born and bred in the UK would struggle to answer them.
In what year did British women receive the right to divorce? How many members are there in the Scottish Parliament? When is St George’s Day? Who is the patron saint of Scotland? How many hours can a 14-16 year old work before taking a rest break? And what is an AGCE?
Arrrgh!!! I need to know the answers to these questions (and many, many more) by two o’clock today, because that’s when I take the test.
Wish me luck!
Alchemy Pie 
Good luck, Amy!!!!!
Thanks, Cindy!
Good luck, Amy!!!!!
Thanks, Cindy!
Er, what? Those are really %%% questions (and I wouldn’t be able to answer any of them for france).
Good luck. My fingers and other appendages are crossed for you.
Much appreciated! And yes, there are some really bizarre questions in there…
Er, what? Those are really %%% questions (and I wouldn’t be able to answer any of them for france).
Good luck. My fingers and other appendages are crossed for you.
Much appreciated! And yes, there are some really bizarre questions in there…
Er, what? Those are really %%% questions (and I wouldn’t be able to answer any of them for france).
Good luck. My fingers and other appendages are crossed for you.
Oh my!! Good luck, Amy!!!! I’ll be thinking of you.
Thank you, Jo!
Oh my!! Good luck, Amy!!!! I’ll be thinking of you.
Thank you, Jo!
Good Luck, Amy…
…however, I hear our immigration test would stump most Yanks—we just don’t know our history—we take it all for granted.
You’ll do fine!
Remember, the Beatles were from Liverpool. đŸ˜‰
Re: Good Luck, Amy…
Not a single mention of the Beatles on the test — can you believe it?!
Not a single mention of the Beatles on the test — can you believe it?!
Only their best—and highest grossing—export of the sixties!
Someone needs to rewrite that test!
Someone needs to rewrite that test!
Hear, hear!
Good Luck, Amy…
…however, I hear our immigration test would stump most Yanks—we just don’t know our history—we take it all for granted.
You’ll do fine!
Remember, the Beatles were from Liverpool. đŸ˜‰
Re: Good Luck, Amy…
Not a single mention of the Beatles on the test — can you believe it?!
Not a single mention of the Beatles on the test — can you believe it?!
Only their best—and highest grossing—export of the sixties!
Someone needs to rewrite that test!
Someone needs to rewrite that test!
Hear, hear!
Good Luck, Amy…
…however, I hear our immigration test would stump most Yanks—we just don’t know our history—we take it all for granted.
You’ll do fine!
Remember, the Beatles were from Liverpool. đŸ˜‰
Re: Good Luck, Amy…
Not a single mention of the Beatles on the test — can you believe it?!
Not a single mention of the Beatles on the test — can you believe it?!
Only their best—and highest grossing—export of the sixties!
Someone needs to rewrite that test!
Someone needs to rewrite that test!
Hear, hear!
Good luck! I still remember the horror of preparing for that test (which NONE of my British friends or inlaws could have passed based on general knowledge)…have fun celebrating afterward (and knowing that you will NEVER need to know any of those statistics ever again)!
I’m guessing you had to take an early version of the test — and I hear that was even worse! Thanks so much for the encouragement!
Good luck! I still remember the horror of preparing for that test (which NONE of my British friends or inlaws could have passed based on general knowledge)…have fun celebrating afterward (and knowing that you will NEVER need to know any of those statistics ever again)!
I’m guessing you had to take an early version of the test — and I hear that was even worse! Thanks so much for the encouragement!
Good luck, Amy!!
Thanks, Jeni!
Forgot to say how much I like your new icon! What a lovely family you have.
Good luck, Amy!!
Thanks, Jeni!
Forgot to say how much I like your new icon! What a lovely family you have.
Good luck!
But my god, that’s esocteric and ugly.
Re: Good luck!
Well, some of the questions are much better (and easier) — such as whether the UK has a written constitution, and what the two parts of Parliament are called. But there are plenty of other questions that are mighty strange.
Good luck!
But my god, that’s esocteric and ugly.
Re: Good luck!
Well, some of the questions are much better (and easier) — such as whether the UK has a written constitution, and what the two parts of Parliament are called. But there are plenty of other questions that are mighty strange.
Good luck!
But my god, that’s esocteric and ugly.
Re: Good luck!
Well, some of the questions are much better (and easier) — such as whether the UK has a written constitution, and what the two parts of Parliament are called. But there are plenty of other questions that are mighty strange.
You will be brilliant! More British than the Brits, I’m certain.
I suspect I don’t drink enough tea to be British. But thank you for the good wishes! xoxo
You will be brilliant! More British than the Brits, I’m certain.
I suspect I don’t drink enough tea to be British. But thank you for the good wishes! xoxo
Maybe if you walk in holding a cup of tea they’ll cut you some slack and pronounce you Very British.
Sending good test-taking thoughts your way. You can do it!
Thanks, Tracy! I missed the cup-of-tea trick, though. Maybe I should have offered tea to the supervisors (who really looked like they could use one after the whole bank of test computers crashed).
Maybe if you walk in holding a cup of tea they’ll cut you some slack and pronounce you Very British.
Sending good test-taking thoughts your way. You can do it!
Thanks, Tracy! I missed the cup-of-tea trick, though. Maybe I should have offered tea to the supervisors (who really looked like they could use one after the whole bank of test computers crashed).
Maybe if you walk in holding a cup of tea they’ll cut you some slack and pronounce you Very British.
Sending good test-taking thoughts your way. You can do it!
Good luck, Amy! I had to take the US test when I was seventeen and that was easy compared with those questions. But I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors and then you can celebrate with a cream tea. đŸ™‚
Thanks so much for the good wishes, Lorraine!
I didn’t realize you’d taken the US test. Taking that at 17 must have been rather stressful. Where do you hail from originally?
My mom is Swiss and I was born there, but moved to Canada in my first year and then to the US in my fourth. My husband just became a Spanish citizen (his mom is Spanish) but luckily he didn’t have to memorize anything. Whew.
Good luck, Amy! I had to take the US test when I was seventeen and that was easy compared with those questions. But I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors and then you can celebrate with a cream tea. đŸ™‚
Thanks so much for the good wishes, Lorraine!
I didn’t realize you’d taken the US test. Taking that at 17 must have been rather stressful. Where do you hail from originally?
My mom is Swiss and I was born there, but moved to Canada in my first year and then to the US in my fourth. My husband just became a Spanish citizen (his mom is Spanish) but luckily he didn’t have to memorize anything. Whew.
Good luck! I think the patron saint of Scotland is St. Andrew.
Weird questions!
Full points for you!
Good luck! I think the patron saint of Scotland is St. Andrew.
Weird questions!
Full points for you!
lots of luck, I am sure you will pass with flying colors!
Thank you!
lots of luck, I am sure you will pass with flying colors!
Thank you!
Thanks so much for the good wishes, Lorraine!
I didn’t realize you’d taken the US test. Taking that at 17 must have been rather stressful. Where do you hail from originally?