What IELTS score do you need? Requirements by purpose

Read a requirement in three parts

IELTS has no pass mark. The score you need is set by whoever receives your result, and every requirement line contains three things:

1. The test version: Academic, General Training (GT) or IELTS for UKVI
2. The Overall: the average of the four skills, rounded to the nearest half band
3. The minimum per skill: the line each of the four skills has to clear

A comfortable Overall doesn't help if one skill is below its line, and a high score in the wrong version isn't accepted at all.

How to read a requirement Read every IELTS requirement in three parts: the test version, the Overall and the minimum per skill. Missing any one of them makes the result unusable, so check the version before you worry about the score.

Every number in this guide was checked on the institutions' official pages on 21 October 2026. Rules change, so on the day you apply, open the sources listed at the bottom again.

The two conditions in the first shape bite separately. Oxford's standard graduate level (7.0 overall, 6.5 in each) is not met by 6.5 in all four skills: every skill clears its line, but the average is 6.5, so the Overall is 6.5. An average ending in .25 rounds up to .5 and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band, so you need no skill below 6.5 and a total of at least 27.0 across the four (an average of 6.75) to reach 7.0.

When there is a minimum per skill, your weakest skill sets the timeline, because Listening 8.0 won't make up for Writing 5.5. So with a minimum per skill, start with the weakest skill; with only an Overall, start wherever half a band takes the least work, which is usually Listening or Reading. How to split your time is in when every skill has a minimum (Korean).

You choose the version when you book. Listening and Speaking are the same test in Academic and GT; Reading and Writing differ (Academic vs General Training). IELTS for UKVI is IELTS booked as a UK-approved Secure English Language Test (SELT), and it also comes in Academic and GT versions. Since 22 March 2026 every IELTS test in Korea has been taken on computer at a test centre. That is not IELTS Online, which many of the bodies checked here don't accept (noted under each one below).

Study abroad: the visa minimum and the school's requirement are separate

The government sets a minimum for the student visa, and the school sets its own score for admission. Admission follows the school's number, and in the examples below it is higher than the visa minimum.

• UK: the scores above are the levels on the UK government's SELT list; no Overall is set. The result must have been awarded in the two years before your visa application. At degree level or above, a university with a track record of compliance may assess your English itself and state on your CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) that it has done so and how. Its own choice of test and score then applies, which may be standard IELTS Academic (Oxford is an example), and the level must still be B2. Courses below degree level don't have this route.
• Australia: with at least 10 weeks of English (ELICOS), or a Foundation or eligible Pathway programme, packaged with your main course, the minimum is 5.5 overall; with at least 20 weeks of ELICOS it is 5.0. Home Affairs sets an Overall only, and the test must have been taken in the two years before you lodge (Regular Evidence level).
• Canada: IRCC does not set an English score for a study permit; the school does. The Student Direct Stream (SDS), which had a score rule, ended on 8 November 2024, and Korea was never an SDS country. The Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) does have a language rule for applications from 1 November 2024: CLB 7 (GT 6.0 in each skill) for university graduates (bachelor's, master's, doctoral and other university programmes) and CLB 5 (Listening 5.0, Reading 4.0, Writing 5.0, Speaking 5.0) for other programmes, with results less than two years old when you apply.
• New Zealand: the school confirms in your offer of place that it has assessed your English, and Immigration New Zealand doesn't require test results. Non-university providers must apply NZQA's floor: Academic 6.0 with no band below 5.5 for levels 6 and 7 (including bachelor's degrees), and Academic 6.5 with no band below 6.0 for levels 8 to 10 (postgraduate).
• US: there is no government score; the school's admission standard is the requirement. A school can issue the I-20 only once you meet all its admission standards, including any English requirement, and some schools have no English requirement.

Graduate schools set their own scores: four real examples

• Oxford: each course page says whether the standard or higher level applies. IELTS Academic for UKVI is accepted; General Training, IELTS Online and One Skill Retake are not (the scores must come from a single test). The test must be less than two years old at the course start date.
• Toronto: One Skill Retake is not accepted, and the test must have been taken within the last 24 months when you submit the application. Departments can set higher scores.
• Melbourne: graduate requirements vary by course across three levels (6.5 with 6.0 in each, 7.0 with 6.5, 7.5 with 7.0). The scores must come from one sitting within 24 months of your planned start. One Skill Retake is accepted (within 60 days of a full test on computer at a centre); online and at-home tests are not.
• UC Berkeley: these are the rules for Fall 2027 admission. The scores in the table apply to tests taken on or after 21 January 2026; tests taken from 1 June 2025 to 20 January 2026 need 7.0 overall only, and earlier tests aren't accepted. IELTS Online is accepted; One Skill Retake is not. Applicants whose degree is from Korea must submit an English test, and departments may ask for more.

Graduate requirements run from 6.5 overall (6.0 in each) to 7.5 overall (7.0 in each). Plan from the numbers on your programme's page, not from "graduate school needs 6.5".

Immigration: every country counts differently

Canada: each skill becomes a CLB

Express Entry accepts IELTS General Training only and does not accept One Skill Retake. Results must be less than two years old both when you create your Express Entry profile and when you apply for permanent residence; an application made with expired results is refused. Each skill is converted to a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB). Here is IRCC's table in the order this site uses (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking):

• Each cell is the lowest score for that CLB, and a score between two rows counts at the lower one: Listening 7.0 is CLB 7, and Reading 5.5 is CLB 6.
• There is no Overall column. The CLB is set skill by skill, so one skill short is enough to miss it. Even within CLB 9, Reading, Writing and Speaking need 7.0 but Listening needs 8.0.

TEER is the job's category in Canada's National Occupational Classification (NOC). These are minimums for eligibility; the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score that ranks Express Entry candidates is calculated separately, and a higher CLB earns more language points.

Australia: three levels

Each visa asks for a particular level, so check the page for your visa. The score must have been achieved in the three years before your visa application (depending on the visa). The list of approved tests changed on 7 August 2025, but the IELTS scores did not. One Skill Retake results are accepted for eligible visas; IELTS Online is not.

New Zealand and the UK

• New Zealand Skilled Migrant Category: the principal applicant needs 6.5 overall or more in Academic or GT; no minimum per skill is stated. A partner or dependent child aged 16 or over needs 5.0 overall or more. The test must be taken in person at a test centre, and the result must be no more than two years old when you apply. One Skill Retake is on the list of approved tests.
• UK Skilled Worker: a first application on or after 8 January 2026 needs B2, which in IELTS for UKVI is 5.5 in each skill. It used to be B1 (4.0 in each), and if you had this visa before that date, extending or updating it needs B1 and you don't have to prove your English again. Doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives and vets meet the requirement with the English assessment accepted by their regulator.
• UK settlement (ILR): the rules say a Skilled Worker applying for settlement on or after 26 March 2027 must show B2 in speaking and listening. Check GOV.UK at that point for which tests and scores count.

Professional registration: nurses and doctors

• NMC: IELTS Academic for UKVI is also accepted. No Overall is stated, but clearing all four minimums always gives an average of at least 6.875, so the Overall is always at least 7.0 (that is arithmetic, not NMC wording). Two sittings within 12 months of each other can be combined if you took all four skills both times, both are within two years of the date the NMC assesses your application, and no score in either sitting is below 6.5 in Listening, Reading or Speaking or below 6.0 in Writing. One Skill Retake and IELTS Online are not accepted, and scores are valid for two years.
• NMBA: since 18 March 2025 the Writing minimum has been 6.5 (it was 7.0); the changes of 23 April 2026 were to other tests' scores, not IELTS. Only tests taken at a test centre count. Up to two sittings within 12 months can be used if you score 7.0 overall in each sitting and no lower than 6.5 in any skill in either, meeting the skill minimums across the two. Results from different test providers can't be combined. One Skill Retake is accepted (it doesn't count as an extra sitting, but every test you rely on must fall within 12 months). Results must be from the two years before you apply.
• GMC: all the scores must come from the same test and from your most recent sitting; sittings can't be combined. Even 7.0 in all four isn't enough: that averages 7.0, and 7.5 overall needs a total of 29.0 (an average of 7.25). The one exception is a single One Skill Retake: if one section of a full test taken on computer at a centre that offers One Skill Retake missed the minimum, the GMC accepts a pass in that section from a retake taken within 60 days. IELTS Online is accepted. Certificates are valid for two years and must still be valid when the GMC approves your registration (for PLAB 1, on the exam day).

Korean employers and promotion

Korean companies and public bodies usually set their hiring and promotion requirements in another English test, such as TOEIC. Whether IELTS is accepted, and from what score, varies from notice to notice with no common standard, so this guide gives no numbers for Korean employers. Check the language-score section of the notice you're applying to: whether IELTS is listed, and if so, which version, what score and how recent it must be.

Two rules that apply everywhere

Validity is counted from the institution's date

IELTS recommends treating a result as valid for two years from the test date, and says organisations can choose to accept results for longer. The real rule is set by whoever receives the result: most bodies checked here use two years, and Australian skilled visas three, depending on the visa. The date each body counts from is given in its section above.

Count validity backwards Validity is counted from a date the institution sets (your application, your course start, their assessment), not from your test date. Choose your test date by counting back from that day.

Not everyone accepts One Skill Retake

One Skill Retake lets you resit one skill, once, within 60 days of the original test, and only after IELTS taken on computer at a test centre. IELTS itself recommends checking that the receiving organisation accepts it before you book.

• Accept it: Australian Home Affairs (eligible visas), New Zealand Skilled Migrant Category, Australian nursing registration (NMBA), UK medical registration (GMC, once), University of Melbourne
• Don't accept it: Canada Express Entry, UK nursing registration (NMC), Oxford, Toronto and UC Berkeley graduate admissions

Eligibility and whether a retake is worth it are covered in One Skill Retake explained (Korean).

Worked example: aiming for CLB 9 in Express Entry

• Goal: Canada Express Entry, Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
• Current result: IELTS General Training, Listening 7.5, Reading 6.5, Writing 6.5, Speaking 6.5
• Target: CLB 9 in all four skills

Step 1: Check the minimum first

The FSW minimum is CLB 7 in all four skills, which is 6.0 in each. Every skill here is 6.5 or above, so this person is already eligible. CLB 9 isn't about eligibility; it is a target for the CRS score.

Step 2: Convert each skill

The Overall is a total of 27.0, an average of 6.75, so 7.0. It looks comfortable, but the CLB table has no Overall column, so that number plays no part.

Listening 7.5 is this person's best score, yet it is the same CLB 8 as the rest, because CLB 9 asks for 8.0 in Listening, the highest bar of the four. Treat Listening as done and that is exactly where CLB 9 slips away.

Step 3: Turn the gaps into questions and weeks

• Listening 7.5 → 8.0: on the band score table, 7.5 is 32 to 34 correct and 8.0 starts at 35, so the gap is one to three questions depending on where you sit.
• Reading 6.5 → 7.0: in General Training Reading, 6.5 is 32 to 33 correct and 7.0 starts at 34, so one or two questions. GT needs more correct answers than Academic for the same band (Academic 7.0 starts at 30), so the work is counting why you lose each question.
• Writing and Speaking 6.5 → 7.0: usually 6 to 10 weeks when you write or speak regularly and get feedback every time; for Writing, usually 6 to 8 weeks once you know exactly what is being marked down. These are typical ranges, not promises.

The conversion can shift by a question or two between tests.

Step 4: Decide the order

"CLB 9 in all four" works like a minimum per skill, so the usual rule is to start with the weakest skill. Here all four are short by the same half band, so start with the skills that take longest: Writing and Speaking. Keep Listening and Reading going with timed practice two or three times a week, and give them more time in the last few weeks.

Because this is General Training, Writing Task 1 is a letter (General Training Writing Task 1 letters (Korean)) and Reading practice should use General Training tests. Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1, so the essay stays at the centre. The other differences are in the General Training guide (Korean).

Step 5: Match the test date to the validity window

Express Entry doesn't accept One Skill Retake, so you can't fix one skill afterwards. Plan on all four clearing their bars in one full test, and book once your mocks show all four at CLB 9 twice in a row. Results must be under two years old both when you create the profile and when you apply for permanent residence, so count back from the PR application, not forward from the test.

What to remember

• The institution sets the score. Read every requirement in three parts (test version, Overall, minimum per skill); miss one and the result can't be used.
• Studying abroad has a visa minimum and a school requirement, and admission follows the school's. Canada, New Zealand and the US set no government IELTS score for student visas.
• Canada's Express Entry takes General Training only, doesn't accept One Skill Retake, and converts each skill to a CLB. CLB 9 needs 8.0 in Listening.
• Validity is counted from the institution's date, not your test date: usually two years, and three for Australian skilled visas depending on the visa.
• The numbers here are as of 21 October 2026. Rules change (the UK Skilled Worker requirement rose to 5.5 in each skill on 8 January 2026), so check the official page on the day you apply.

What to read next

1. When every skill has a minimum (Korean): how to split your time when the requirement says "no band below".
2. Academic vs General Training: choosing the right version for your purpose.
3. The General Training guide (Korean): if you're preparing for immigration, how GT Reading and the Task 1 letter differ.
4. IELTS band scores and conversion tables: turning raw scores into bands and working out the Overall.
5. How to build an IELTS study plan: turning the gap between your score and the requirement into a weekly plan.
6. Results, remarks and validity (Korean): what to check when your result arrives and how to send it.

Sources

Sources Checked 21 October 2026. UK Student visa: knowledge of English (GOV.UK) · Secure English Language Tests (GOV.UK) · Approved SELTs taken outside the UK (GOV.UK) · Immigration Rules: Appendix English Language (GOV.UK) · Skilled Worker visa: knowledge of English (GOV.UK) · Immigration Rules: Appendix Skilled Worker (GOV.UK) · Express Entry language tests (IRCC) · End of the Student Direct Stream (IRCC) · Study permit eligibility (IRCC) · Study permit documents (IRCC) · Studying at a Canadian university (EduCanada) · PGWP eligibility (IRCC) · PGWP documents (IRCC) · English language requirements (Home Affairs) · Competent English (Home Affairs) · Proficient English (Home Affairs) · Superior English (Home Affairs) · Student visa, subclass 500 (Home Affairs) · English for skilled residence visas (INZ) · Fee Paying Student Visa (INZ) · English entry requirements for international students (NZQA) · NZQA Rules 2026 (PDF) · Accepted English language tests (NMC) · IELTS Academic (NMC) · English language skills standard (NMBA) · Accepted English language tests (Ahpra) · Using your IELTS certificate (GMC) · Graduate English language proficiency (Oxford) · English language proficiency testing (U of T SGS) · Master of IT entry requirements (Melbourne) · English language requirements (Melbourne) · Graduate application requirements (UC Berkeley) · SEVP Policy Guidance S13.2 (DHS, PDF) · English language training (Study in the States) · IELTS scoring in detail (IELTS) · One Skill Retake (IELTS) · Test types (IELTS) · Computer-only notice (IDP Korea)