General information on IELTS eligibility, format, pattern, exam dates, test centers in India & exam fee
What is IELTS?
The IELTS is an abbreviation of the International English Language Testing System. The IELTS exam measures your skills in listening, reading, writing and speaking through two test formats, namely IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. While IELTS Academic can be taken up by those who wish to go for higher education or professional registration, IELTS General Training is for those who are looking at migrating to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. For academic and work purposes, the US also accepts the same. The test has been designed and is owned by the British Council.
Our students who wish to study abroad have to take IELTS Academic.
IELTS Eligibility Criteria
Anyone above the age of 16 years can take the IELTS test. If you wish to study, work or migrate to the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand and study or work in the US, you can take this test.
IELTS Exam Dates in 2025-26
You can take the exam four times a month. On the IELTS website, you have to choose your country and the closest examination centre which is convenient to you along with the kind of exam you’d want to take (choose between IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training). You will then see test dates that are available and click apply by filling up the application form. Test is offered on 48 fixed dates a year, running into four times a month. The yearly schedule is available on the website.
The British Council offers IELTS tests in over 40 cities across India. Please check for availability when you register online.
You may check IELTS-2025-26 dates here British council IELTS Dates 2025-26
Please register one month prior to secure your place on your preferred day at your chosen test centre.
IELTS Exam Fee
In India, the registration fee for IELTS exam is INR 17,000.
For online registrations, only credit/debit payment is accepted, for in person registrations, you will be required to pay by credit or debit card / DD / ICICI bank deposit slip.
IELTS Exam Pattern and Syllabus
In two hours and 45 minutes, the IELTS will aim to assess your listening, reading, writing and speaking skills in English language. As mentioned above, the two types of tests, IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training differ in their reading and writing components, while listening and speaking tests are same for both.
- IELTS Academic -IELTS Academic is for test takers wishing to study at undergraduate or postgraduate levels, and for those seeking professional registration.
- IELTS General Training -IELTS General Training is for test takers wishing to migrate to an English-speaking country (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK), and for those wishing to train or study at below degree level.
IELTS Test Centres in India
Once you register on the sites for the exam, you will be asked to select your city and date on which you wish to take the test. Five days prior to your scheduled test date, you will get venue details on email.
IELTS Exam Booking Process
Once you have decided what type of IELTS test you wish to take, check for exam test dates. Go online on websites, download online application form and register for the date convenient to you in the city of your choice by paying registration fee.
Alternately, you could also visit their offices and register in person. You will then be contacted via email regarding venue location on your preferred date.
IELTS Exam Results: When and how they are obtained
Once you take the test, your results will be available 13 days after that in the form of a test report form. These will also be available online or if possible for the test centre, you can also get a preview by SMS alert.The results will be posted to you.
IELTS Exam Papers and Tests for Practice
Taking practice tests is vital to be prepared for the day. Since the final day will involve taking all the four tests one after the other, it makes sense to take up practice tests under similar time bound manner. IELTS websites are equipped with a number of such practice tests and sample exam papers to help you prepare effectively. These can be accessed free of cost.
IELTS band scores explained
As mentioned above, your test report form will list out your scores for each of the four sections, namely listening, reading, writing and speaking. Your English language skills will be rated on a scale of 1 to 9, with 9 being the highest score. The assessee will get the total score by adding scores in all four sections, divide it by four and get the average of it. That is then rounded off to the next half band or next whole band to arrive at the figure. For instance, if you got 6.5, 6.5, 5 and 7 scores in the four tests respectively, then it comes to a total of 25. Divide it by four, you get 6.25. Round it up to the next half band and your total score is 6.5. The higher the total score, the better your chances of getting into your dream institution/country.
Minimum IELTS score for immigration
This is a tricky one as there is no one size fits all score. Depending on the country you are targeting to study in or migrate to, the score requirements will vary. First, let’s look at it country by country basis.
Minimum IELTS score for the United Kingdom (UK)
The score for UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) depends on what kind of visa are you seeking. If it is Tier I or General Visa, then you need to score a minimum of 7.0 overall and in each of the four skills.
For Tier I Exceptional Visa/Tier I Entrepreneur Visa/Tier 2 General Visa/Tier 4 General Student Visa for below degree level and professional courses, an overall score of 4.0 is valid and same for each of the four skills.
As for Tier 4, General Student Visa for degree level and above, 5.5 overall minimum score is required and the same in each of the four skills. In addition to this, every university and institution have their own entry requirements.
The UK government has made it mandatory to take IELTS Life Skills test for speaking and listening. It is to be taken for Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) levels A1 or B1. Check if you’d need to apply for this as well.
IELTS score for Canada immigration
In this North American country, you would need to check the minimum score requirement with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB). These are national standards that are used to assess the English language proficiency of immigrants.
A student visa for Canada would need you to score at least 5.5 in each of the four segments with an overall minimum score of 6.0 and above for undergraduate courses.
For graduate courses, the same goes up to 6.5 and above with a minimum of 6.0 score in each of the four tests of IELTS.
Minimum IELTS score for MS / MBA student visa in USA
Universities in the US expect you to score a minimum of 6.5 score in the IELTS exam.
Now, here’s a guide to minimum IELTS score requirements for some of the Top MS and MBA universities. The higher the better, but most B-schools will accept your application for admission with a minimum score of 6.5.
Along with this, you need to have scored at least 6.0 in all the four components of the IELTS exam. However, it can go up too for some.
This information on this page is only for representation only. Ensure that you get the latest data from the official websites.
For more details, Pls visit official website for IELTS https://www.ielts.org