Thousands of foreigners who want to marry a British person and move to Britain will have to take an English language test, the Prime Minister announced yesterday.

Gordon Brown said that the test would help to prevent foreign brides being exploited. He made his surprise announcement only five hours after a Home Office Green Paper on overhauling citizenship rules said that consultations on English tests for foreigners were continuing.

The Prime Minister said in a speech in North London: “We will introduce a new English language requirement for those applying for a marriage visa and planning to settle in the UK — both as part of our determination that everyone who comes here to live should be able to speak English and to make sure that they cannot be exploited.”

The English language test will apply to tens of thousands of spouses, particularly those from the Indian sub-continent. A total of 47,000 spouses and fiancées, including 17,000 from the sub-continent, were admitted to the UK in 2006. Ministers have for some time been concerned that some of those arriving from the sub-continent have no knowledge of English, are vulnerable to exploitation and cannot get access to the job market. It was unclear last night whether failure to pass the English language test would lead to outright refusal to come to Britain or whether a temporary visa would be granted.

Mr Brown’s announcement came after proposals to reform citizenship rules under which migrants who want a British passport or to settle permanently in the country will have to undergo a probationary period of up to three years.

Foreigners will be expected to leave the country if they fail to take citizenship or apply to settle permanently, as the Government seeks to end the situation where migrants “languish in limbo” having been allowed to stay.

The Government is also considering ending the “ancestral visa” scheme under which Commonwealth citizens aged over 17 with a British grandparent are allowed to enter Britain to seek work and settle.

A scheme under which retired migrants with an annual income of at least £25,000 are allowed to enter Britain, receive free healthcare and then settle may also be scrapped.

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, made clear that she expected the number of new citizens — more than 1.1 million since Labour came to power 1997 — to increase as a result of the overhaul of citizenship rules. She said: “I would want to see a larger proportion of those that are here moving to full British citizenship. You will not be able to languish in limbo. Once your period of temporary residence comes to an end you will need to apply for the next stage or leave.”

Gaining citizenship will take at least six years from arrival in the UK instead of the current five years, and could take as long as eight years.

The probation period will last a year if the foreigner takes part in community activities such as charity fundraising, running a sports group or other voluntary work.

Migrants who undertake no community or voluntary work will have to wait the existing five years plus a minimum three years on probation.

Full access to non-contributory benefits will not be granted after a person has been in the UK for five years, but only after an applicant has completed the probationary period.

A fund financed by a surcharge on immigration applications will be set up to give cash to areas that experience problems because of immigration, such as oversubscribed schools. The fund is expected to raise tens of millions of pounds a year.

Migrants who have served a prison sentence will be barred from citizenship and minor offenders given a non-custodial sentence may have to serve three years on probation.

A draft Bill based on the proposals is due this summer, and full legislation is expected in November.

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