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Life in the UK Questions
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Life in the UK test questions and answers

88 free practice questions with the correct answer for each, grouped by chapter of the official handbook (3rd edition). Open any question to see all the answer choices and an explanation of why the answer is right.

The real test has 24 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, and you pass with 18 or more correct (75%). These are practice questions written from the handbook, not the questions from the real test, which are not published.

Chapter 1: The values and principles of the UK

  1. How many questions does each Life in the UK test contain?Answer: 24
  2. Your evidence of spoken English must reach which Common European Framework of Reference level?Answer: B1
  3. Which of these is one of the freedoms the UK offers to its residents?Answer: Freedom of speech
  4. Before applying to settle or become a citizen, where should you confirm the latest requirements?Answer: The Home Office website
  5. Apart from English, the test can be arranged in Welsh and in which other language?Answer: Scottish Gaelic
  6. How can you book a place on the Life in the UK test?Answer: Online only
  7. Respecting people whose faith or beliefs differ from your own is one of the core principles of British life.Answer: True
  8. To pass the test, you must memorise when famous people were born and when they died.Answer: False
  9. Everyone sitting the Life in the UK test in the same session answers the same 24 questions.Answer: False
  10. Test questions can be based on the introduction to the handbook.Answer: True
  11. You can sit the Life in the UK test at any college that teaches English.Answer: False
  12. Which TWO are fundamental principles of British life?Answers: Individual liberty and The rule of law
  13. Which TWO are responsibilities that permanent residents and citizens should accept?Answers: Treating others with fairness and Looking after the environment
  14. Which TWO things do you need to do to become a permanent resident or naturalised citizen?Answers: Show evidence of English speaking and listening skills at B1 level and Pass the Life in the UK test
  15. In the citizenship pledge, which TWO things do new citizens promise?Answers: To uphold its democratic values and To observe the UK's laws faithfully
  16. According to the handbook, where can you find information about ESOL courses in your area?Answer: Gov.uk
Chapter 1 questions with explanations

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Chapter 2: What is the UK?

  1. What is the official name of the country?Answer: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  2. What is the status of the Falkland Islands?Answer: A British overseas territory
  3. Which term describes the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands?Answer: Crown dependencies
  4. Where does the parliament that governs the UK sit?Answer: Westminster
  5. Which part of the UK is NOT included in the term 'Great Britain'?Answer: Northern Ireland
  6. How many countries make up the United Kingdom?Answer: Four
  7. The Isle of Man is part of the United Kingdom.Answer: False
  8. The handbook uses 'Britain' and 'British' to mean everyone in the UK, not only people in Great Britain.Answer: True
  9. Each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has its own parliament or assembly that can decide certain matters.Answer: True
  10. St Helena has the status of a British overseas territory.Answer: True
  11. Crown dependencies are governed directly by the UK Parliament in Westminster.Answer: False
  12. Which TWO are Crown dependencies?Answers: The Channel Islands and The Isle of Man
  13. Which TWO of these have close ties to the UK without belonging to it?Answers: The Falkland Islands and The Isle of Man
  14. Which TWO of these are part of Great Britain?Answers: Wales and Scotland
  15. Which TWO of these have their own parliament or assembly with devolved powers?Answers: Scotland and Wales
Chapter 2 questions with explanations

Chapter 3: A long and illustrious history

  1. Roughly how long ago was Britain finally cut off from mainland Europe by the Channel?Answer: 10,000 years ago
  2. Which king brought Wales under the English Crown with the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284?Answer: Edward I
  3. Who designed the new St Paul's Cathedral after the Great Fire of London?Answer: Sir Christopher Wren
  4. Farming reached Britain roughly 6,000 years ago.Answer: True
  5. The Battle of Agincourt in 1415 was a defeat for Henry V's English army.Answer: False
  6. Edward VI was a devout Catholic who persecuted Protestants.Answer: False
  7. Which TWO describe life in the Bronze Age?Answers: Living in roundhouses and Making objects from bronze and gold
  8. Which TWO of Henry VIII's wives were executed?Answers: Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard
  9. In which year did newspapers stop needing a government licence to operate?Answer: 1695
  10. What name was given to parliamentary seats that one wealthy family controlled?Answer: Pocket boroughs
  11. After the Glorious Revolution, all adult men had the right to vote.Answer: False
  12. Scotland kept its separate legal and education systems after the 1707 Act of Union.Answer: True
  13. Which TWO were confirmed by the Bill of Rights of 1689?Answers: The monarch must be a Protestant and Elections for Parliament at least every three years
  14. Which TWO kinds of work did many Huguenot refugees do?Answers: Weaving and Banking
  15. Whose killing on 28 June 1914 triggered the events that led to the First World War?Answer: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
  16. About how many Indian soldiers fought for Britain during the First World War?Answer: More than a million
  17. Which Minister for Health oversaw the creation of the NHS in 1948?Answer: Aneurin (Nye) Bevan
  18. Protestants in the north of Ireland backed the Home Rule Bill.Answer: False
  19. In 1947, India and Pakistan were granted independence.Answer: True
  20. Which TWO were among the Central Powers in the First World War?Answers: The Ottoman Empire and Germany
Chapter 3 questions with explanations

Chapter 4: A modern, thriving society

  1. Roughly how far is it from John O'Groats to Land's End?Answer: 870 miles
  2. In the 2011 Census, what share of people described their religion as Christian?Answer: 59%
  3. What is the day before Lent begins called?Answer: Shrove Tuesday
  4. Almost one in ten people in the UK has a parent or grandparent who was born abroad.Answer: True
  5. Wales has an established Church.Answer: False
  6. Boxing Day is the day before Christmas Day.Answer: False
  7. Which part of London was home to the main site of the 2012 Olympic Games?Answer: Stratford, east London
  8. Which organisation has organised the Proms since 1927?Answer: The BBC
  9. The Olympic Games have been held in the UK on three occasions.Answer: True
  10. The composer George Frederick Handel was born in Britain.Answer: False
  11. Which TWO venues host many major sporting events?Answers: The Principality Stadium and Wembley Stadium
  12. Which TWO pieces of music were written by George Frederick Handel?Answers: The Water Music and Messiah
  13. What is a piece of land that people rent to grow fruit and vegetables called?Answer: An allotment
  14. Which flower is associated with Scotland?Answer: The thistle
  15. England, Wales and Scotland have how many national parks between them?Answer: 15
  16. The daffodil is the flower associated with Northern Ireland.Answer: False
  17. 'Big Ben' is the official name of the clock tower at the Houses of Parliament.Answer: False
  18. Which TWO places in Scotland are famous for their gardens?Answers: Crathes Castle and Inveraray Castle
Chapter 4 questions with explanations

Chapter 5: The UK government, the law and your role

  1. According to the handbook, what is democracy?Answer: A system in which every adult has a say in how the country is run
  2. What is a system called in which the monarch does not rule but appoints the government the people have chosen in an election?Answer: A constitutional monarchy
  3. About how many senior MPs does the Prime Minister appoint as cabinet ministers?Answer: 20
  4. The Chartists' campaign was widely judged a success in its own time.Answer: False
  5. The monarch may advise and warn the Prime Minister, but government policy is decided by the Prime Minister and cabinet.Answer: True
  6. An MP who does not belong to one of the main parties is known as an 'independent'.Answer: True
  7. Which TWO are responsibilities of MPs?Answers: Helping to create new laws and Scrutinising what the government is doing
  8. Which TWO are homes of the Prime Minister?Answers: Chequers and 10 Downing Street
  9. Who holds the ceremonial role of head of the Commonwealth?Answer: The British monarch
  10. Which of these is an example of a civil law matter?Answer: A dispute between a landlord and tenant over repairs
  11. Who heads the separate police forces in the UK?Answer: Chief Constables
  12. Civil law exists to resolve disagreements between people or organisations.Answer: True
  13. Which TWO are criminal offences?Answers: Selling alcohol to someone under 18 and Harassing someone because of their faith or ethnic background
  14. In which year did the UK sign the European Convention on Human Rights, as one of the first countries to do so?Answer: 1950
  15. Which government department collects taxes?Answer: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
  16. In England and Wales, people on the electoral register between which ages may be called for jury service?Answer: 18 and 75
  17. Violence against a partner is a crime that can be prosecuted whether or not the couple are married.Answer: True
  18. People who work for themselves pay income tax through self-assessment.Answer: True
  19. Only people who have died can donate organs.Answer: False
Chapter 5 questions with explanations

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