Which English test does each country accept for study, work and immigration?
The short answer
There is no single answer, because the decision is made by three different bodies: the visa authority, the university or employer, and, for regulated professions, the regulator, and each keeps its own list. The broad pattern: the UK requires a UKVI-approved test for most visas (IELTS for UKVI or PTE Academic UKVI, among others); Australia and New Zealand accept IELTS, PTE, TOEFL and OET widely; Canada accepts IELTS General Training and PTE Core for immigration and IELTS Academic, PTE Academic or TOEFL for study; the United States accepts TOEFL, IELTS, PTE and increasingly Duolingo for university, with no English test for most visas; Europe is university-by-university, with IELTS and TOEFL near-universal and Duolingo growing; and the Gulf health authorities accept IELTS and OET. Book the test only after reading the exact page of the body you are applying to, because the version of the test matters as much as the test.
Why is there no single list?
A student going to the UK needs a score the university accepts for the offer and a score the Home Office accepts for the visa, and those can be different tests or different versions of the same test. A nurse going to Australia needs a score the regulator accepts for registration and one the immigration department accepts for the visa. Each body publishes its own approved list and its own minimum, and each revises it. The tables below give the pattern as it stands; the page of the body you are applying to is the rule.
What does each country accept?
| Country | Visa or immigration | University admission | Professional registration |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | A Secure English Language Test from the Home Office list: IELTS for UKVI, PTE Academic UKVI, LanguageCert and others, taken at an approved centre. Standard IELTS is not accepted for most visas. | IELTS, PTE, TOEFL, Duolingo and others, set by each university. Many accept the standard versions for the offer even where the visa needs UKVI. | GMC and NMC accept IELTS Academic and OET; other regulators vary. |
| Australia | IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, OET and Cambridge, for most visa subclasses. | IELTS Academic, PTE Academic, TOEFL, some Duolingo. | AHPRA accepts IELTS Academic, OET, PTE Academic and TOEFL for most professions. |
| Canada | IELTS General Training or PTE Core for Express Entry and most PR streams; CELPIP for those who can sit it. | IELTS Academic, PTE Academic, TOEFL, Duolingo at many institutions. | Varies by province and profession; nursing bodies commonly accept IELTS Academic and OET. |
| New Zealand | IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL, OET, Cambridge. | IELTS Academic, PTE Academic, TOEFL. | Medical and nursing councils accept IELTS Academic and OET. |
| United States | No English test for most visas; the university's admission decides. | TOEFL iBT most common; IELTS, PTE Academic and Duolingo widely accepted. | ECFMG accepts OET for medical graduates; nursing boards vary and commonly accept IELTS and OET. |
| Ireland | For study visas, a test the college accepts, typically IELTS or PTE. | IELTS, PTE, TOEFL, Duolingo at many. | Medical Council and NMBI accept IELTS Academic and OET. |
| Germany, Netherlands, Nordics and most of Europe | Usually the university's admission letter is the language evidence for the visa. | IELTS and TOEFL near-universal; PTE common; Duolingo accepted at a growing number. | Regulated professions usually require the local language, not English. |
| Gulf states | Not usually required for the visa itself. | IELTS and TOEFL at most universities. | Health authorities (DHA, HAAD/DOH, MOH, SCFHS and others) accept IELTS and OET for healthcare licensing. |
Which version of the test do you need?
- IELTS Academic vs General Training. Academic for university and most professional registration; General Training for immigration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. The listening and speaking are identical; reading and writing differ.
- IELTS for UKVI is the same test taken at a Home Office approved centre with extra identity checks, and it is the only IELTS that counts for a UK visa. Book it if the UK is your destination, even if the university would accept standard IELTS.
- PTE Academic vs PTE Core vs PTE Academic UKVI. Academic for study and for Australia; Core for Canadian immigration; the UKVI version for UK visas.
- TOEFL iBT is one test, taken at a centre or at home. Some universities do not accept the home edition; check.
- Duolingo English Test is accepted by universities, not by any major visa authority or regulator, so it can get you an offer but not a visa where the visa needs its own test.
- OET is for healthcare registration only, in the profession you register for. It is not accepted for university admission or for non-healthcare visas.
The commonest expensive mistake
Sitting standard IELTS Academic for a UK university offer, then discovering the visa needs IELTS for UKVI and sitting again. If there is any chance the UK is the destination, book the UKVI version from the start.
How do you check before booking?
Find the visa authority's approved list
The Home Office SELT list, the Australian Department of Home Affairs English requirements page, IRCC's language testing page for Canada. Note the test name, the version and the minimum per skill.
Find the programme's own page
The course page states accepted tests and minimums, often with a per-component minimum below the overall. Programmes in the same university can differ.
If the profession is regulated, find the regulator's page
It will name the tests, the minimum grade or band per component, the validity period and whether sittings can be combined.
Choose the test that satisfies all three
Then choose the version. Where two tests both satisfy everything, decide by your own strengths: see IELTS or PTE.
Check validity against your timeline
Most scores are valid for two years, and the date that matters is the application date, not the test date. The sequencing is in the English test to application timeline.
The scores each of these bodies typically requires are in English test scores by country and programme.