IELTS Life Skills is for people needing to prove their English speaking and listening skills at Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) Levels A1 or B1. You can use your Life Skills results to apply for certain visa types to the UK. In the Life Skills test you will only be assessed for your listening and speaking skills. A trained and qualified IELTS examiner will assess your English-language proficiency across these two skills.

All IELTS examiners need to have a relevant teaching qualification to be recruited by test centres. They work with a clearly defined assessment criteria and all their marking is subject to quality control procedures. This is all in place to ensure your results are fair and accurate.

In the IELTS Life Skills, examiners will mark you on your ability to obtain and convey information, speak to communicate and engage in discussion. There are also no band scores awarded in the Life Skills test, your results will simply be given as a pass or fail.