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If you plan to study in higher education or seek professional registration, you can take the IELTS Academic test. However, if your goal is to study secondary education, work, or migrate to an English-speaking country, IELTS General Training test might be right for you.
Where you want to study, work, or migrate will affect which test you need to take. If you want to go to the United Kingdom, you will need to specifically take the IELTS for UKVI test. This can either be the IELTS Academic for UKVI test, IELTS General Training for UKVI test, or the IELTS Life Skills A1 or B1 test.
Make sure you visit the relevant government or institutional websites to confirm which test you need to take, as government agencies, institutions, and other recognising organisations set their own IELTS entry requirements.
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IELTS Academic and General Training are two wholly separate types of test, for two different purposes. While some individual organisations may accept an Academic result in the place of General Training, this decision is up to them. You will need to contact your specific organisation to learn more.
IELTS for UKVI, sometimes called SELT, is the same as any other IELTS test, but with additional security measures required by the UK Government.
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is an international standard for describing language ability. It describes language ability on a 6-point scale, from A1 for beginners, up to C2 for those who have mastered a language.
If you wish to migrate, study or work in the UK, you may be required to take the IELTS for UKVI test. Use the UK Government visa check list to find out whether you need to take an approved test and what level you need to achieve.
If you plan to study in higher education or seek professional registration in an English-speaking country, you might need to take an IELTS Academic.
The General Training test looks at your English-language capabilities in a work or social environment. If you plan to study in secondary education, enroll in vocational training, move abroad for work or migrate to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK or the USA, you might need to take an IELTS General Training.
IELTS and IELTS for UKVI are the exact same test in terms of format, content, scoring and level of difficulty. The only difference is an IELTS for UKVI test is approved by the UK Home Office for work, study and migration purposes.
If you take an IELTS for UKVI test, your test report form will be a little different to show you have taken an IELTS for UKVI test at an approved test centre.
The band score you need to study abroad is set by the institution to which you are applying and not by IELTS.
The score needed to apply to a course may vary based on the institution or course you want to apply for. If you are not sure what band score you need to apply for your desired course, check out our Who accepts IELTS page or double-check with the institution you wish to apply to.
The band score you need to migrate to a particular country varies. Check our Who accepts IELTS page to check what band score you need.