IELTS Academic, IELTS General Training and IELTS Life Skills are accepted by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) as proof of English proficiency for those wishing to live, work and study in the UK.
IELTS tests for UK Visas and Immigration are managed by the IELTS partners, which comprises The British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge Assessment English.
Find out more about IELTS for UKVI (Academic and General Training) and IELTS Life Skills.
If you are applying for a Tier 4 Student Visa to enter directly onto a bachelor or postgraduate degree at a university that is a Tier 4 Sponsor, you must meet the English language level set by the institution. All British universities and colleges accept IELTS results. Tier 4 Student Visa applicants can apply to the UK universities listed here with an IELTS result from more than 1,200 IELTS test locations worldwide. Please note that some institutions may have additional requirements.
A limited number of test centres in the following countries offer the IELTS for UKVI (Academic) on computer:
Click here for more information.
IELTS used for UK visa applications FAQs
Download the IELTS UKVI Decision-Making document (PDF, 1.6MB) to help choose the right IELTS test for your requirements.
Thousands of education and training providers all over the world use IELTS results to select their students.
Many professional registration bodies and employers rely on IELTS as evidence of English language proficiency.
IELTS is a task-based test covering the four language skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
