The short answer: which ID, and whose rules apply
The British Council's Saudi Arabia booking page names a valid passport or national ID card for Saudi nationals, and a valid passport or Iqama for non-Saudi nationals. It adds that digital IDs are not accepted and that you should bring your original registered ID for both the Speaking and the written tests. These are the British Council's rules for its own bookings. IDP has separate pages, and the only IDP rules this page uses are its transfer rules, further down.
Read on the British Council's and IDP's Saudi Arabia pages on 24 October 2026. Rules change, so check the provider's own page before you rely on anything here. This page quotes no exam fees or dates.
| Topic | British Council, Saudi Arabia | IDP, Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| ID to book with | Passport or national ID card (Saudi nationals); passport or Iqama (non-Saudi nationals) | Not covered on this page; check IDP's booking page |
| Digital ID | Not accepted; bring the original registered ID to Speaking and the written tests | Not covered on this page |
| Residency and paper tests | If you are not officially a resident, no paper test, but computer is open to you | Not covered on this page |
| Under 18 | Written parent or guardian consent to book; IELTS not recommended under 16 | Not covered on this page |
| Paying | Online booking system or bank transfer, with a reference in a set form | Not covered on this page |
| Changing your date | Not covered on this page; ask the British Council | A free transfer 15 or more days before the written test date; none within 4 days; a footnote limits the policy to computer tests and excludes UKVI |
Sources: the British Council's booking page and test-day page, and IDP's reschedule and cancel page. A “not covered” cell means this page does not cover the point, not that the provider has no rule, and one provider's rule should not be applied to the other.
Which ID to book with
The British Council's booking page separates candidates by nationality:
- Saudi nationals: a valid passport or national ID card.
- Non-Saudi nationals: a valid passport or Iqama.
The same page says digital IDs are not accepted and asks for your original registered ID at both the Speaking test and the written tests. In the standard IELTS format, the written tests are Listening (30 minutes), Reading (60 minutes) and Writing (60 minutes), and Speaking is a separate interview of 11 to 14 minutes; these timings describe the standard format and are not taken from the British Council's pages. Because the page names both parts, plan to carry the original document for each, not a digital version of it.
Two British Council pages, two wordings. The booking page names the Iqama for non-Saudi nationals. The test-day page tells you to bring the same ID you used to book and lists “national identity card or passport”; the Iqama is not named in the line read. This page cannot say how the British Council treats that difference, so if you plan to sit with an Iqama, ask the British Council before test day and read its booking page for the current rule.
Test day: the same ID, still valid
The British Council's test-day page asks you to bring the same valid ID you used when you booked, and says invalid or expired ID will not be accepted. Put together with the booking page, three habits follow, offered as general advice and not as a provider rule:
- Check the expiry date against your test date, not against today. An ID that is valid when you book but expired by test day runs into the rule above.
- Note which ID you registered with. Keep the note beside your booking details, so that you do not pick up the other document on the morning.
- Choose an ID you can bring in its original form. That is what the booking page asks for.
Residency and the paper test
The British Council's booking page ties its paper test to residency. In plain terms:
| Your situation | What the British Council's page says |
|---|---|
| Not officially a resident in Saudi Arabia | You cannot sit IELTS on paper, but you can still take the test on computer, and the page asks you to choose that option |
| Residency visa or residence permit | Among the proofs of residence the page lists for non-Saudi candidates who have booked the paper test |
| Tourist or business visa | Not accepted as proof of residence |
The British Council's list has other entries that this page does not reproduce, so read it in full. This page does not say how an Iqama fits into that list, and it does not say which centres still run paper sessions. If you are unsure which row describes you, ask the British Council. This page gives no visa or immigration advice. For how the providers' pages describe computer and paper tests in Saudi Arabia, see computer-delivered IELTS in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
Candidates under 18
The British Council's booking page says candidates under 18 have to supply written consent by a parent or guardian in order to book a test. It also says IELTS is not recommended for people under 16. Because the consent is needed to book, a parent or guardian should be involved before a date is chosen; that part is general advice.
This is the British Council's wording for its own bookings. This page does not give IDP's under-18 rule, and it does not say what form the consent takes or which ID a younger candidate should bring, so ask the provider you book with.
Paying the British Council: online or by bank transfer
The British Council's booking page says you can pay through its online booking system or by bank transfer. For a transfer you add the British Council as a beneficiary, and in the reference section of the payment you write the reference in this form:
IELTS / family name / city / test date
General advice: check that the family name, city and test date match your booking before you send the transfer. This page quotes no exam fee, so ask the British Council for the amount that applies to you.
Changing your date: IDP's transfer rules
These rules come from IDP's Saudi Arabia reschedule and cancel page, and they are IDP's, not the British Council's. A footnote on that page says this transfer and cancellation policy applies to IELTS on computer tests only, excluding IELTS for UKVI tests.
| When you ask | IDP's rule |
|---|---|
| 15 or more days before your Listening, Reading and Writing test date | A “free transfer” is allowed |
| Within 4 days of your Listening, Reading and Writing test date | No transfer is allowed; any transfer in this period is treated as a cancellation |
- These are rules, not promises. They describe IDP's policy, not what will happen to any particular booking, and this page quotes no fee or percentage.
- Only two of IDP's windows are given here. IDP's page also sets out what applies between them and what a cancellation means for your payment; read it before you decide.
- Not a British Council rule. This page has no British Council transfer rule, so ask the British Council directly if you booked with it.
- Ask your centre. IDP says additional policies might apply in your country, so ask your local centre. The footnote that limits this policy to computer tests and excludes IELTS for UKVI sits at the end of IDP's page, not beside the windows, so ask which bookings the windows cover and what applies to a UKVI booking; see IELTS for UKVI in Saudi Arabia.
General advice: because the free window is counted in days before the written test date, decide early if you think your plans may change.
A checklist before you book
General advice built from the points above. Where a provider's page says something different, follow the provider's page.
- Decide which provider you are booking with, and read that provider's page, not the other's.
- Choose an ID you can bring in its original form and that is valid on your test date. The British Council does not accept digital IDs.
- If you are not officially a resident in Saudi Arabia, choose the computer test.
- If you are under 18, arrange the written parent or guardian consent first.
- If you pay the British Council by bank transfer, prepare the reference in the form IELTS / family name / city / test date.
- If you book with IDP, look at its transfer windows before you fix a date.
To see which centres exist, read IELTS test venues in Saudi Arabia.
Where Band Booster fits
Band Booster IELTS is a private online tutor, not a test centre. It is independent of IDP, the British Council and Cambridge University Press & Assessment, and it does not register you for the test, set test fees or dates, or issue results. On ID, residency, consent, payment and transfers, the provider's page is what counts.
What Band Booster does offer is preparation. Mike, a CELTA-certified teacher based in Hanoi who scored 8.5 in Speaking in his own IELTS, teaches every lesson himself, one-to-one and live on Google Meet in English. Speaking is practised in the real three-part format with feedback in the moment, and Writing Task 1 and Task 2 are marked against the public band descriptors. See about Mike, IELTS Speaking coaching and IELTS Writing feedback. Not sure which version of the test you are booking? Read Academic or General Training.
Living in Riyadh or Jeddah? See the pages for an online IELTS tutor in Riyadh, an online IELTS tutor in Jeddah, and Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, where the time difference with Hanoi is set out. Saudi Arabia is in the higher regional price tier, and the booking page shows your price in your own currency before you pay. A paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on your first booking, and you can reschedule a lesson at no charge up to 12 hours before the session. Those lesson rules are Band Booster's own and are separate from the exam transfer rules above. No band is guaranteed: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions. Studying from another country? See online IELTS tutor by country.