English language for UK visa applications: A1, A2, B1. How many levels are there, do they cover the whole alphabet?
In fact, there are only 6 levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2. A1 being the most basic and B1 the highest and hardest to score. As much as it may seem the UK Immigration Rules are making these levels hard to understand, it is actually a common European framework known as CEFR. So, there are the same levels in French or Spanish etc. Our of these 6 levels only 3 are used in the UK visa applications. Furthermore, there are 4 components at each level: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Which level you need depends on the Rules applicable to your UK visa category. It is mentioned in the Immigration Rules for a given visa type. The Rules also say whether you need all 4 components or only some of them. For example, Spouses of UK citizens initially only need a most basic A1 level and only in Speaking and Listening. Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrants need a B1 level in all 4 components. Most migrants applying for settlement need a B1 level too but only in Speaking and Listening.