IELTS in Gabon — no test centre listed, the nearest options and the scores your route needs

Gabon is not among the countries in the official IELTS test centre finder, and neither are Equatorial Guinea or the Republic of the Congo. The nearest listed centres are in Cameroon; Nigeria is the next option.

The finder lists eight IELTS sessions in Cameroon, all run by the British Council, in Yaoundé, Douala and Bamenda. IELTS for UKVI runs at ELFA in Yaoundé and Global Language Centre in Douala, and ELFA also lists Life Skills A1 and B1 at XAF 143,000. Check the entry rules for the country you will test in before you book.

Australia's Proficient English (IELTS 7.0 each) adds 10 points and Superior (8.0 each) adds 20, achieved within three years of the visa application. Canada accepts only IELTS General Training for Express Entry, and the result must be under two years old. UK universities usually ask 6.0 to 6.5 for undergraduate and 6.5 to 7.0 for postgraduate study. The United States sets no IELTS or PTE score for the student visa: each university sets its own, and some do not accept PTE at all.

French speakers have a second route into Express Entry: IRCC also accepts two French tests, TEF Canada and TCF Canada, measured on the NCLC scale, and the English and French results must each be less than two years old.

Each university sets its own English score, and some do not take PTE at all. Universities we checked on their official pages:

McGill accepts IELTS (including IELTS for UKVI) only when sent electronically by the test centre, and does not accept One Skill Retake. McGill does not accept PTE, IELTS Online or One Skill Retake for graduate admission. Toronto accepts IELTS Online and UKVI sittings of both tests, but not One Skill Retake, and wants every IELTS score from a single test date. ASU asks more for some colleges: engineering is IELTS 6.5 or PTE 58, and its nursing degree does not accept PTE. Closer to home, Ashesi University in Ghana asks international students who were not taught in English at secondary school for evidence of English such as TOEFL or IELTS, without publishing a minimum score, and accepts the French Baccalaureate for admission.