I must admit that I thought it was a little ironic. After having one year of university study in Canterbury, dozens of subsequent trips to England, and now two years of living in Salisbury, I recently found myself ready to take a test entitled "Life in the UK."

The test was on a computer, and to take it I had travelled to the test centre in Eastleigh by train from Salisbury. It consisted of 24 questions, and required a rate of 80 percent correct answers for success. Passing the test is a requirement for anyone wishing to become either a permenant resident in the UK or to become a UK citizen. This year, after two year's residency, I am eligible for a permanent residency visa, and that is why I found myself at the Eastliegh test centre on a grey and drizzly February day.

Even after double-checking all of my answers, I finished the test in less than ten minutes, and at least three or four others finished before me. After answering all of the questions and ticking the "complete" button at the end of the test, we were to go from the computer lab back out to the test centre's waiting room, to be called in order of completion back into the administrator's office.

After producing passport identification for the fifth time that afternoon, the administrator pushed a button on her computer and we both waited for a single page to emerge from her printer. She looked at it briefly and then said "Congatulations - you passed." She then folded the single page, put it in an envelope and waited for me to leave before calling in the next person.

I had been optimistic of passage, but was still relieved to hear it become official. The embarassment and hassle of retaking the test was not something to look forward to, and I was glad to be finished with this hurdle.

On the train back to Salisbury I recognized one of my fellow test-takers, who had gotten on the train at Southampton. We had spoken briefly before the test, but on his short return trip he avoided eye contact with me on the small two-car train. Unfortunately, not everyone did pass.

My partner, family, friends and fellow students in my French class at Wiltshire College were all complimentary and supportive on hearing my news. Now, in two weeks, we must journey to the Home Office branch in Croydon, south-east London, to present the completed application, along with a substantial fee, for my new visa. It must be accompanied by the letter reporting my successful passage of the "Life in the UK" test. Passing the "Life in the UK" test means that I can continue to do just that.