Home Office English Language Testing (HOELT) Services

The Home Office English Language Test (HOELT) Programme vision is to deliver a best-in-class language testing service, underpinned by automation and efficiency to enable critical UK Visa and Immigration decision making. To do this, we need to deliver a secure, accessible and fair English Language Testing service for our customers.

This procurement seeks a fully remote language testing service, balancing continuity with improvements and transformation. HOELT will move to a digital-by-default approach, while upholding the rigorous standards necessary to support our immigration decisions.

The successful provider will deliver a service that combines technological innovation with security assurance, enabling customers to demonstrate their English language skills with confidence and convenience throughout their UK immigration journey. HOELTs shall be delivered securely in any location where the Customer chooses to take the test, provided secure test conditions are met.

The Authority requires that all ELTs are delivered remotely. However, if there are local constraints (for example legal/technical) within a Country which would prevent Remote Testing for the foreseeable future or on a temporary basis, exceptions to the remote testing requirement may be proposed.

The HOELTs shall be available in two formats:   2-Facet: Speaking and Listening (A1 to C2)   4-Facet: Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing (A1 to C2)  The HOELT Fees shall be regulated, as determined by the Authority. All HOELT scores shall map clearly to CEFR levels A1 to C2, as published by the Council of Europe.

Authority recognises that there is significant uncertainty regarding future demand for English Language Testing (ELT) services in each country and location, the advertised contract value must be concidered in this context. This uncertainty arises from a combination of factors, including:  Ongoing changes to UK immigration policy following the Immigration White Paper;  The transition to a new contracting model for the delivery of ELT services;  Broader external influences such as global events, geopolitical developments, environmental disruptions, and demographic shifts.

Given this context, the Authority is unable to provide indicative forecasts or guarantees regarding future test volumes. The Service must therefore be demonstrably scalable and responsive to fluctuations in demand, both increases and decreases.

The Supplier shall proactively manage changes in demand and demonstrate flexibility in adapting to evolving Service requirements throughout the Term. Please note, five Requests for Information (RFIs) have been run as part of market engagement to inform this procurement. Links to the notices published in relation to the market engagement are below for further information: RFI 1: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027422-2024 RF 2: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035979-2024 RFI 3: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/014337-2025 RFI 4: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036839-2025 RFI 5: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054810-2025