life in the uk test

After months of studying, I was worried that I’d memorised the practice questions without properly learning the material. Put the same subject into a different question and would I still know the answer? That was a horrible thought when the Life in the UK test was the next step in my application to stay here.

I’d spent nine years dealing with visa applications, fees and proving my case again. Now I was preparing to apply for indefinite leave to remain, and I needed to pass this test first. It felt like a lot to hang on 24 questions. In September 2025, I went to London to find out whether all that preparation had worked.

Watch my Life in the UK test experience on YouTube.

The questions I knew and the ones I dreaded

In my mind, the study questions fell into three categories. The first were the gimmes, things such as when Christmas or Boxing Day falls and what a bank holiday is. After living here for nine years, I felt confident about those. I hoped plenty would turn up on the real test.

Then there were questions I could answer by taking my time or remembering something I’d learned while living here. A question about who built the Tower of London connected to my visit there, when I’d learned about its history. Edinburgh Fringe was another one I could remember through experience because I’d been there.

The final category was pure memorisation. Names of inventors, sporting achievements, monarchs and details of government could all get muddled in my head. I could remember some kings, but others became a mess. Questions about football, cricket and Olympic medals were particularly difficult because those weren’t things I already followed.

I compared the questions tied to my own experiences with Slumdog Millionaire, where the character can answer through things that have happened to him. Unfortunately, not every question came with a convenient memory of a day out.

A short handbook with a lot inside it

The handbook didn’t look enormous, but that was part of the difficulty. It covered such a long stretch of history in very little space, as well as more recent government and cultural material. I found it brief on context, with a lot of facts to remember rather than room to understand everything in depth.

I’d started studying around late June or early July, first reading the handbook, then doing practice exams during my twice-weekly Twitch streams. I also used flashcards in a paid app. I worked through bits over time rather than leaving it until the night before.

I’ve never been a crammer. Before an exam, I prefer to relax, read a book and go to bed early, because trying to force more information in at the last minute doesn’t feel useful to me. That was how I approached this test too, although the repeated practice brought its own worry that I was recognising answers rather than learning them.

A practice pass didn’t stop the nerves

I did a mock test before the trip. Some questions were reassuring, especially the holiday ones. Others exposed exactly the gaps I feared. When the Scottish Grand National came up, I didn’t know where it took place. I tried to reason my way towards an answer and got it wrong.

I passed that practice test overall, which helped. I also realised I’d thought I needed more correct answers than the practice test actually required. I didn’t have to be perfect, and that was a relief. If I failed the real one, I’d have to book and pay again, make another trip to London and pass before moving ahead with my application. Possible, but not ideal.

On the morning of the test, I was nervous about arriving on time, proving my identity and failing. The bigger worry underneath all of it was my application to stay in the UK. My train was booked, my phone was charged and I had podcasts ready, but knowing I’d prepared didn’t switch off the nerves.

Thirty minutes later

I chose the train that would get me there earlier rather than risk a delay. In the end I arrived about half an hour before my two o’clock slot, went inside at 1.30 and came back out at two. My result arrived at 2.01.

I passed.

After all that build-up, I’d spent about five minutes answering the actual questions, reading each one several times as slowly as I could. The whole visit was about thirty minutes. I was sweaty, relieved and still trying to absorb that this part was done.

Outside, the miserable weather had turned into a blue-sky day. I headed back towards Westfield to go shopping, and I thought I was going to sleep very well that night.