IELTS Score for UK PR / Immigration

IELTS levels for UK immigration

Which English tests are accepted for UK immigration?

Use an approved Secure English Language Test (SELT): IELTS for UKVI / IELTS Life Skills, or another Home Office-approved provider.

Make sure you book the exact test version the immigration authority accepts (for example, the General/Core version where required, not the Academic one) — taking the wrong version is a common, costly mistake.

How to reach your target IELTS score

1. Find your starting point. Take a free full-length IELTS mock test to see exactly which skills are below target.
2. Prioritise your weakest skill. In points-based systems, one low skill can cap your whole score — lift the lowest band first.
3. Learn the test strategy, not just the English — timing, question types and how each skill is marked, in the free prep lessons.
4. Check your writing and speaking against the official criteria with the free band checker before you book.
5. Book once you're consistently hitting the target in practice — re-sits cost money and time.

What decides this in practice

The score tables above are the published requirement. Four things decide whether you actually meet it, and none of them are on the official page.

• The requirement is per skill, not an average. This is the single most common and most expensive misreading. A requirement written as a score "in each" skill means your lowest band is your result — a strong overall average with one weak skill fails, and it fails after you have paid. Prepare to the requirement in your weakest skill and treat the others as already done.
• One retake is normal; plan the calendar for it. Because the bar is per skill, a single weak paper sends people back for a full resit. Build one spare attempt into your timeline from the start rather than discovering you need it against a deadline — Settlement (ILR) & Citizenship timelines rarely bend for a test date. Booking is also seasonal, and slots near popular deadlines go first.
• Take the right version of the test. Use an approved Secure English Language Test (SELT): IELTS for UKVI / IELTS Life Skills, or another Home Office-approved provider. For settlement you also pass the Life in the UK test. Always book an approved UKVI SELT, not a standard IELTS.
• Verify the number before you book. Requirements here are compiled for comparison and the authorities change them without notice — sometimes mid-year. Confirm the current figure on the official government or registration body's own page at the point you book the test, not at the point you start preparing. That gap is often months.

There are 181 free IELTS practice tests on this site covering 3,850 questions across Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking — counted from the test files themselves, not estimated. Every question is checked before release so its answer key matches an option you can actually select, and no paper can be scored well by picking the same letter throughout. Start a full IELTS mock test →

Figures on this page are indicative and provided for planning. IELTS requirements for UK are set by the relevant authority and are the only version that counts.