- Skilled Worker
- B2 · 5.5 each
- Student, degree
- B2 · 5.5 each
- Student, below degree
- B1 · 4.0 each
- Valid for
- 2 years
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Which IELTS the Home Office accepts
For a visa that requires a Secure English Language Test you must book IELTS for UKVI (Academic or General Training) or IELTS Life Skills at an approved centre; a standard IELTS is not accepted for those routes. The exception is degree-level study: a Higher Education Provider may assess your English itself and accept a standard IELTS Academic result, as long as it meets B2.
Results are valid for two years from the date the test is awarded, and IELTS One Skill Retake is accepted for UKVI purposes on computer-delivered tests in selected locations.
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Free IELTS Academic practice and examples
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- Academic Reading
Choose a question type, answer a passage and check the explanation.
- Listening with audio
Listen, enter your answers and review the answer key.
- Speaking Part 1
Practise familiar topics and compare with sample answers.
- Academic Writing Task 1
Study charts and reports with model answers.
IELTS for UKVI band by visa route
| Route | CEFR level | IELTS for UKVI |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker (new applicants from 8 Jan 2026) | B2 | 5.5 in each skill |
| Skilled Worker extension, visa held before 8 Jan 2026 | B1 | 4.0 in each skill |
| Student visa, degree level or above | B2 | 5.5 in each skill, or a test your university sets if it assesses English itself |
| Student visa, below degree level | B1 | 4.0 in each skill |
| Partner or spouse, first application | A1 | IELTS Life Skills pass (speaking and listening) |
| Partner extension after 2.5 years | A2 | IELTS Life Skills pass (speaking and listening) |
| Settlement or citizenship | B1 or higher | 4.0 in each skill |
A1, A2 and the two-skill B1 are met with IELTS Life Skills, a pass-or-fail speaking and listening test. The four-skill bands are 4.0 for B1, 5.5 for B2 and 7.0 for C1, in every component.
What UK universities ask for
All UK universities accept IELTS. Typical entry bands are 6.0 to 6.5 overall for undergraduate courses and 6.5 to 7.0 for postgraduate, usually with no skill below 5.5 or 6.0. Examples from the universities' IELTS listings: Greenwich 6.0 undergraduate and 6.5 postgraduate, UCL 6.5, Nottingham Trent 6.5 with 6.0 in writing. Competitive courses in law, medicine and journalism go to 7.0 or 7.5.
Score requirements change and vary by program and institution. Always confirm the current requirement with UK Visas and Immigration and your university's admissions office before you set a target.
Cost and results
In the UK, IELTS Academic and General Training start around £190 and IELTS for UKVI around £257; centres set the exact fee, so check yours when booking. Computer-delivered results are released in one to five days, paper in up to 13 days.
BandLadder pricing in GBP for United Kingdom
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| Plan | Access | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Sprint Pass | 7 days | GBP 4.99 |
| Quick Pass | 15 days | GBP 8.99 |
| Boost | 30 days | GBP 14.99 |
| Ascent | 60 days | GBP 23.99 |
| Elite | 90 days | GBP 31.99 |
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Practice IELTS Academic →Frequently asked questions
What IELTS score do I need for a UK Skilled Worker visa?+
CEFR B2, which is IELTS for UKVI 5.5 in each of the four skills, for applications from 8 January 2026. If you held a Skilled Worker visa before that date and are extending it, B1 (4.0 in each skill) still applies.
Do I need IELTS for UKVI to study at a UK university?+
Not always. For degree-level courses the university can assess a standard IELTS Academic result itself, provided it meets B2. Below degree level, or if the university asks for it, you need IELTS for UKVI at B1 or above.
How long is IELTS for UKVI valid?+
Two years from the date the result is awarded.
Is IELTS or PTE easier for a UK visa?+
Both are approved SELTs and both map to the same CEFR levels. PTE Academic UKVI is computer-scored with results in about 48 hours; IELTS has a face-to-face speaking test. Take a scored mock of each and use the one where you score higher.
Official sources
Guide updated 22 September 2026. This guide helps you plan test preparation; check the current rules for your own program.
- IELTS One Skill Retake: accepted by UKVI
- How long an IELTS result stays valid
- PTE for the UK compared
- Universities in the UK accepting IELTS 6.5
- PTE vs IELTS for a UK visa: which test and which score
- What IELTS score do nurses need for the UK (NMC)?
- What IELTS score does the HCPC require?
- What IELTS score do doctors need for the GMC?
- What IELTS score do pharmacists need for the GPhC?
- What IELTS score do you need for a UK Student visa?
- What IELTS score do you need for a UK Skilled Worker visa?
- What English test do you need for a UK spouse or family visa?
- What English level do you need for ILR and British citizenship?
- What IELTS score do you need as a barrister in England and Wales?
- Is the English requirement for ILR going up to B2?
- How long is a UK SELT result valid?
- What happens if your SELT expires while your UK application is being decided?
- Can you reuse the English test from a previous UK visa?
- How many Home Office-approved SELT test centres are there?
- Can you use Trinity GESE for a UK spouse visa, ILR or citizenship?
- Is the Life in the UK test the same as the English test?
- How do you get a medical exemption from the English requirement for ILR or citizenship?
- Which nationalities are exempt from UK English tests?
- Does a UK PGCert or PGDip prove your English for ILR or citizenship?
- What IELTS score do physiotherapists need for the HCPC?
- What IELTS score do dentists need for the GDC?
- What IELTS score do occupational therapists need for the HCPC?
- What IELTS score do midwives need for the UK (NMC)?
- What IELTS score do paramedics need for the HCPC?
- What IELTS score do teachers need for QTS in England?
- What IELTS score do vets need for the RCVS?
- What IELTS score do radiographers need for the HCPC?
- Do engineers need IELTS for the UK?
- What IELTS score do you need as a dietitian in the UK?
- What IELTS score do you need as a speech and language therapist in the UK?
- What IELTS score do you need as a podiatrist in the UK?
- What IELTS score do you need as an orthoptist in the UK?
- What IELTS score do you need as an optometrist in the UK?
- What IELTS score do you need as a chiropractor in the UK?
- What IELTS score do you need as an osteopath in the UK?
- Can you use Cambridge C1 Advanced for a UK visa?
- Do you need IELTS for the UK Graduate visa?
- Do you need IELTS for the UK Global Talent visa?
- What English level does the UK Health and Care Worker visa need?
- What English level do you need for the UK High Potential Individual visa?
- What English level do you need for the UK Innovator Founder visa?
- What English level does the UK Scale-up Worker visa need?
- What English level does the UK Minister of Religion visa need?
- Do you need IELTS for the UK Youth Mobility Scheme visa?
- Does a Skilled Worker's partner need IELTS for a dependant visa?
- What IELTS score do you need as a dental nurse in the UK?
- What IELTS score do you need as a dental hygienist in the UK?
- What IELTS score do you need as a dispensing optician in the UK?
- What IELTS score do you need as a veterinary nurse in the UK?
- Do you need IELTS for a UK Ancestry visa?
- Do you need an English test for the Hong Kong BN(O) visa?
- Does the UK Senior or Specialist Worker visa need IELTS?
- Do you need IELTS for a UK Seasonal Worker visa?
- Does the UK Creative Worker visa need an English test?
- Does a UK student's partner need IELTS for a dependant visa?
- Can a UK university waive IELTS for your Student visa?
- Can you get a UK Student visa for a pre-sessional English course?
- Does a UK Student visa dependant need IELTS?
- Does a UK Child Student visa need IELTS?
- Do you need IELTS to study an English course in the UK?
- Do you need a new English test to extend a UK Student visa?
- Can a UK Student visa be refused because of your English at interview?
- Can you get a UK Student visa if a disability exempts you from part of an English test?
- How much is the IELTS exam fee in the UK in 2026?
- How much is the PTE exam fee in the UK in 2026?
- Where can I take IELTS in the UK?
- Where can I take PTE in the UK?
- How much is the TOEFL fee in the UK in 2026?
- Is TOEFL accepted for a UK visa?
- What OET score do nurses need for the NMC in the UK?
- What OET score do doctors need for the GMC?
- Can I use the Duolingo English Test for a UK visa?
- What LanguageCert score do I need for a UK visa?
- Where can I take a LanguageCert SELT in the UK?
- LanguageCert or IELTS for UKVI: which test for a UK visa?
- Which English tests count for a UK visa? The approved SELT list
- Can I do a master's in the UK with IELTS 6.0 overall and 5.5 in writing?
- Can I get into a UK university without IELTS using my Class 12 English marks?
- I missed one IELTS skill: which UK universities will accept a One Skill Retake?
- Do UK universities accept PTE for a master's, and what PTE score do I need?
- What is the cheapest English test I can use for a UK student visa from India?
- I have 7 in listening, reading and speaking but 6.0 in writing: what are my options for NMC registration?
- I'm applying for a UK spouse visa from Pakistan: which English test do I need and what does it cost?
- Where can I take IELTS or PTE in Birmingham?
- What IELTS score do you need for Oxford?
- What IELTS score do you need for Cambridge University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Imperial College London?
- What IELTS score do you need for UCL?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Edinburgh?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Manchester?
- What IELTS score do you need for King's College London?
- What IELTS score do you need for LSE?
- What IELTS score do you need for Warwick?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Bristol?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Glasgow?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Leeds?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Birmingham?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Sheffield?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Nottingham?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Southampton?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Exeter?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of York?
- What IELTS score do you need for Durham University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of St Andrews?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Bath?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Liverpool?
- What IELTS score do you need for Queen Mary University of London?
- What IELTS score do you need for Newcastle University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Coventry University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Hertfordshire?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Greenwich?
- What IELTS score do you need for Northumbria University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Ulster University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Teesside University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Sunderland?
- What IELTS score do you need for Middlesex University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Anglia Ruskin University?
- What IELTS score do you need for De Montfort University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Leicester?
- What IELTS score do you need for Brunel University of London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Kent?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Essex?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Sussex?
- What IELTS score do you need for Aston University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Portsmouth?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Bedfordshire?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Wolverhampton?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Salford?
- What IELTS score do you need for Lancaster University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Loughborough University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Cardiff University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Queen's University Belfast?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Strathclyde?
- What IELTS score do you need for Heriot-Watt University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Oxford Brookes University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Nottingham Trent University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Sheffield Hallam University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Manchester Metropolitan University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Reading?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Surrey?
- What IELTS score do you need for City St George's, University of London?
- What IELTS score do you need for Royal Holloway?
- What IELTS score do you need for Goldsmiths, University of London?
- What IELTS score do you need for SOAS University of London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Westminster?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of East London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Bradford?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Huddersfield?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Hull?
- What IELTS score do you need for Keele University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Plymouth?
- What IELTS score do you need for Liverpool John Moores University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Aberdeen?
- What IELTS score do you need for Swansea University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Dundee?
- What IELTS score do you need for UWE Bristol?
- What IELTS score do you need for Birmingham City University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Leeds Beckett University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Edinburgh Napier University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Stirling?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Derby?
- What IELTS score do you need for Glasgow Caledonian University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Lincoln?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Chester?
- What IELTS score do you need for UCLan (University of Lancashire)?
- What IELTS score do you need for Kingston University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Northampton?
- What IELTS score do you need for Bournemouth University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Bolton?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Roehampton?
- What IELTS score do you need for Canterbury Christ Church University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of the West of Scotland?
- What IELTS score do you need for Robert Gordon University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Gloucestershire?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of East Anglia?
- What IELTS score do you need for Bath Spa University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Solent University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Buckingham?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Worcester?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Brighton?
- What IELTS score do you need for Bangor University?
- What IELTS score do you need for London Metropolitan University?
- What IELTS score do you need for London South Bank University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Staffordshire University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Cumbria?
- What IELTS score do you need for Edge Hill University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Cranfield University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Aberystwyth University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Abertay University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Cardiff Metropolitan University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of South Wales?
- What IELTS score do you need for Wrexham University?
- What IELTS score do you need for St Mary's University, Twickenham?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Winchester?
- What IELTS score do you need for Liverpool Hope University?
- What IELTS score do you need for York St John University?
- What IELTS score do you need for The University of Law?
- What IELTS score do you need for University of the Arts London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of West London?
- What IELTS score do you need for Buckinghamshire New University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Suffolk?
- What IELTS score do you need for Arden University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Ravensbourne University London?
- What IELTS score do you need for Birkbeck, University of London?
- What IELTS score do you need for Regent's University London?
- What IELTS score do you need for University College Birmingham?
- What IELTS score do you need for Leeds Trinity University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Queen Margaret University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Wales Trinity Saint David?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of the Highlands and Islands?
- What IELTS score do you need for BPP University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Northeastern University London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine?
- What IELTS score do you need for Birmingham Newman University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Harper Adams University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Lincoln Bishop University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Royal Agricultural University?
- What IELTS score do you need for ARU London?
- What IELTS score do you need for Ulster University London?
- What IELTS score do you need for UCLan London?
- What IELTS score do you need for GCU London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Sunderland in London?
- What IELTS score do you need for Coventry University London?
- What IELTS score do you need for Northumbria University London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Portsmouth London campus?
- What IELTS score do you need for Teesside University London?
- What IELTS score do you need for London Business School?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of London's online degrees?
- What IELTS score do you need for Richmond American University London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University for the Creative Arts (UCA)?
- What IELTS score do you need for Falmouth University?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Royal College of Art?
- What IELTS score do you need for Hartpury University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Arts University Bournemouth?
- What IELTS score do you need for Norwich University of the Arts?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Glasgow School of Art?
- What IELTS score do you need for Loughborough University London?
- What IELTS score do you need for Henley Business School?
- What IELTS score do you need for ESCP Business School London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Royal College of Music?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Guildhall School?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Royal Northern College of Music?
- What IELTS score do you need for Trinity Laban?
- What IELTS score do you need for LIPA?
- What IELTS score do you need for Leeds Conservatoire?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Courtauld?
- What IELTS score do you need for Kaplan International College London?
- What IELTS score do you need for INTO London?
- What IELTS score do you need for ONCAMPUS London?
- What IELTS score do you need for SRUC?
- What IELTS score do you need for Plymouth Marjon University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Arts University Plymouth?
- What IELTS score do you need for UWS London?
- What IELTS score do you need for DMU London?
- What IELTS score do you need for Bath Spa University London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the University of Cumbria London?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Royal Veterinary College?
- What IELTS score do you need for Leeds Arts University?
- What IELTS score do you need for Rose Bruford College?
- What IELTS score do you need for the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama?
- What IELTS score do you need for MetFilm School?
- What IELTS score do you need for the National Film and Television School?
- What IELTS score do you need for London Film School?
- What IELTS score do you need for ICMP?
- What IELTS score do you need for BIMM Music Institute?
- Where can I take IELTS or PTE in London?
- Where can I take IELTS or PTE in Manchester?
- Where can I take IELTS or PTE in Leeds?
- Where can I take IELTS or PTE in Glasgow?
- Where can I take IELTS or PTE in Edinburgh?
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