Lost Life in the UK pass letter

I'm applying for ILR in a few weeks and I've just found out that I've lost my Life in the UK pass letter.  My FLR visa runs out on the 22nd of November, and the earliest test date I can get is the 3rd of December. There seems to be no way to get a replacement letter, according to https://www.gov.uk/life-in-the-uk-test

The only thing I can think of is to book a new test, apply for ILR, add an explanation with the application that I passed the test but lost my letter and have booked a new test. Then, when I pass the test again on the 3rd of December (argh, will they even let me take the test if my biometric residence permit shows that it expires on the 22nd of November? [edit: from their ID guidelines it appears that they will not) I'll mail the new pass letter to them.

What should I do?  

At https://www.lituktestbooking.co.uk/eass/footerTerms.action#section11 it says:

11. If I lose my results letter, can I get a replacement?
No. Your results letter is an important document. Please keep it safe as we will not replace it if you lose or damage it. If you lose your results letter, please contact the Home Office.

I also found this: http://www.ergensharif.co.uk/LostLifeInTheUkTestCertificates.aspx, which seems promising.

So I contacted UK Visas and Immigration at the number given here: https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi/visas-and-settlement. They told me that I should file a police report (even though I said it was just lost, not stolen), and get the reference number for my test from my test center, then enter that reference number on my application, include the police report, and explain that I lost it.

I called the test center (or tried to, as there are no numbers given for individual test centers) on the Life in the UK Helpline at 0800 015 4245, and asked for my reference number. They said that they don't have records of tests, and that I'd need to contact UK Visas and Immigration. -.-

Called UK Visas and Immigration again, got a different person. They said nothing about the police report, and said that they are going to consult with someone else and call me back later to see if they can find the reference number and give it to me.

You need to re-take the test and submit your application prior to the visa expiry to qualify for ILR.  Without it, you'll need to apply for FLR(M)... And then ILR after you have the certificate...

Remember the UKVI hotline often give incorrect advice.

Can you book in for the test any earlier?  A different test center perhaps?

Have you turned your house upside down to look for the original one?  Think of it being £885.  Find it!

Best of luck.

Took three calls, but I got my test ID number!  I've also had three separate people from UKVI tell me that if I include the test ID number and explain it in a covering letter, that it is essentially the same as including the actual pass letter, since the test ID will allow them to connect me with their electronic records that show I've passed.

I would take the test again just to be sure, but none of the 5 centers they offer have any dates before my BRP expires. I have looked everywhere in my house that a sheet of paper could conceivably get to, but it seems like it's gone out with the recycling on Monday.

Thanks for your help.

Congratulations... ! Whom did you call? to finally get the test ID? the test centre or 0800 015 4245 or UKVI hotline?

also what did you include in the cover letter?

Took three calls, but I got my test ID number!  I've also had three separate people from UKVI tell me that if I include the test ID number and explain it in a covering letter, that it is essentially the same as including the actual pass letter, since the test ID will allow them to connect me with their electronic records that show I've passed.

I would take the test again just to be sure, but none of the 5 centers they offer have any dates before my BRP expires. I have looked everywhere in my house that a sheet of paper could conceivably get to, but it seems like it's gone out with the recycling on Monday.

Thanks for your help.

Good luck with this.   I do hope this approach works out for you, but if the information you've been provided is not explicitly written down somewhere, I wouldn't necessarily trust three separate UKVI staff, given the amount of false information I've heard about them sharing in the past.   

I suggest you keep checking test centres to see if there are any cancellations between now and Nov 22, (or call a fourth time and get a reference of where they are providing this information from).   Personally, I'd rather check for new tests on a daily basis and pay an extra £50 now, than to have to apply for FLR(M) or appeal your IRL decision in the future...

Good luck with this.   I do hope this approach works out for you, but if the information you've been provided is not explicitly written down somewhere, I wouldn't necessarily trust three separate UKVI staff, given the amount of false information I've heard about them sharing in the past.   

Yeah - I can't find any mention on the UKVI site that anything other than the actual pass certificate will be accepted.

This is what the UKVI website says about the test:

If you pass the test

You must get 75% or more in the test to pass.

You’ll get a pass notification letter. You must send the original with your citizenship or settlement application to prove you passed.

If you’re applying for settlement your pass letter will be returned to you.

If you’re applying for citizenship it will be kept by UK Visas and Immigration.

You’ll only get 1 copy of your pass letter - you can’t get a replacement.

And from the official immigration rules:

2.3 For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1), an applicant demonstrates sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom if:

(a) the applicant has passed the test known as the "Life in the UK test" administered by learndirect limited; or

(b) in respect of an applicant who was resident in the Isle of Man, the applicant took and passed the test in the Isle of Man known as the "Life in the UK test" and which was administered by an educational institution or other person approved for that purpose by the Lieutenant Governor; or

(c) in respect of an applicant who was resident in the Bailiwick of Guernsey or in the Bailiwick of Jersey, the applicant took and passed the test known as the "Citizenship Test" and which was administered by an educational institution or other person approved for that purpose by the Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey or Jersey (as the case may be).

and

4.15 The documentary evidence specified for the purposes of paragraph 2.3 of this Appendix is:

(a) a pass notification letter issued by learndirect limited in respect of the test known as the "Life in the UK test", or

b) where the "Life in the UK test" was taken and passed in the Isle of Man, a pass certificate in respect of the test issued by the relevant educational institution or other person approved for that purpose by the Lieutenant Governor, or

(c) where the "Citizenship test" was taken in the Bailiwick of Guernsey or, as the case may be, in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a pass certificate issued by the relevant educational institution or other person approved for that purpose by the Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey or Jersey (as the case may be).

You might be okay with just the test ID number, but I've never heard of anyone using this before... because as far as I am aware, if you don't have the original pass certificate, the only thing you can do is take the test again to get a new one.

After the OP posted that it would be fine, I got to Googling.  There is a case of someone on Immigration Boards being successful without the certificate.  So I guess it could be true.  But I would hate to pay over £1,000 and wait 6 months before knowing if it was truly okay for ILR or not.  I do hope the OP let's us know the outcome.

Congratulations... ! Whom did you call? to finally get the test ID? the test centre or 0800 015 4245 or UKVI hotline?

also what did you include in the cover letter?

The UKVI hotline. I'll be applying this week, and probably what I'll put is something like...

"After passing my Life in the UK test, I unfortunately lost the pass certificate. I was advised by Curly, Moe, and Larry from UK Visas & Immigration that the test ID is sufficient if the pass certificate is lost and that I should include it on this cover letter for your use. Test ID here:"

I will keep contacting the test center to see if there are any cancellations, I'd be happy to take it again if I can. Calling again and getting some kind of reference sounds like a great idea too, I'll do that.

I'm basing my plan mainly on this:

"11. If I lose my results letter, can I get a replacement?
No. Your results letter is an important document. Please keep it safe as we will not replace it if you lose or damage it. If you lose your results letter, please contact the Home Office."

It does say that you can't get a replacement. However, it also says to contact the Home Office. Why should you contact the Home Office if the only remedy is to simply retake the test and get a new pass certificate? The Home Office can't issue you a new letter, and they can't re-test you. It follows that you contact the Home Office because the testing center transmits your test information to them and then destroys it themselves, so only the Home Office has your test ID.

It also seems absurd (although absurdity in the immigration process is nothing new to any of us, so that may not mean anything) that the flimsy ink-jet paper they give you is your only evidence of the £50 test you just took. I showed them my BRP at the testing center and they linked the test to me with it. The test is also linked to my Home Office reference number, because that's what UKVI used to get me my test ID number. So they'll be able to see electronic records that I've passed the test when they're assessing my application, even if they don't have a piece of paper saying so.

And I'll definitely post again when the application is finally processed. I hope it goes well.  

If you do end up taking the test again, is it the same test? It changed about a year and a half ago. If you took the old test, you'd need to study or at least look over the material a bit.

Not an issue if you took the new test, of course. It would just be terrible to get in for a test only to find it's totally different material than you were expecting.

It is the same test. Good thinking though, that would be pretty embarassing. :p

I've just found this in the Immigration Rules KoLL Appendix:

4.6 Where the decision-maker is satisfied that there is a valid reason why a document has not
been and cannot be supplied, (for example, because the document has been permanently lost
or destroyed), he or she may waive the requirement for the document to be provided or may
instead request alternative or additional evidence (which may include confirmation of evidence
from the organisation which issued the original document).

So I suppose it's up to them. Hopefully they decide it in my favor.

Are you applying in person?

Applying by post. I might include a picture of myself doing puppy dog eyes though.

I do hope the OP let's us know the outcome.

Just received my approval letter today!