IELTS for Germany — English-taught degrees, the Blue Card, the Opportunity Card and fees

The DAAD says international degree programmes and postgraduate programmes taught in English are exempt from the German-language requirement; you show proof of English instead. Neither the DAAD nor the visa sets one IELTS band: each university, often each programme, sets the test and score in its admission rules.

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) accepts IELTS Academic with an overall band of at least 6.5 (TOEFL iBT 88, PTE Academic 65). It accepts IELTS One Skill Retake only with the complete Test Report Form. Six bachelor's programmes check English in their aptitude assessment instead, and TUM says to check each programme's regulations.

Make it in Germany sets no language test for the EU Blue Card itself. It sets pay: a gross annual salary of at least €50,700 in 2026, or €45,934.20 in a shortage occupation with Federal Employment Agency approval. German, not English, speeds settlement: Blue Card holders can get a settlement permit after 27 months with German at A1, or after 21 months with B1.

The Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) lets jobseekers from outside the EU and EFTA come to Germany to look for work. If your qualification is fully recognised in Germany you need no language proof. Otherwise you apply through the points system, which needs at least 6 points and either German at CEFR level A1 or English at B2; English at C1 or above earns one extra point. Make it in Germany names IELTS and TOEFL as recognised English tests but sets no IELTS band and no module, and as a rule accepts certificates no more than one year old. On ielts.org's CEFR chart, B2 is IELTS 5.5–6.5 overall and C1 is 7.0–8.0.

The British Council lists IELTS in Aachen, Berlin, Bremen, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Marburg, Munich and Stuttgart.