This page is about the exam, not a visa guide. It does not say which test, level or score your application needs: read the UK government's guidance for your route and your university's own pages. It was written from British Council China's pages, the mainland registration site and GOV.UK, all read on 24 October 2026, and any of them can change. It quotes no exam fee and no test date.
What IELTS for UKVI is, and which tests the pages list
British Council China's page on the UKVI tests lists the IELTS tests that UKVI accepts. In Chinese it calls IELTS for UKVI the IELTS test "for UK visas and immigration". The page names:
- IELTS for UKVI, in Academic and General Training versions;
- IELTS for UKVI Life Skills A1;
- IELTS for UKVI Life Skills A2;
- IELTS for UKVI Life Skills B1.
GOV.UK's guidance on Secure English Language Tests (SELT) lists the IELTS SELT Consortium's tests as "IELTS for UKVI" and "IELTS Life Skills". The two pages word the Life Skills name differently; this page uses British Council China's wording.
Which of these tests, if any, an application needs is set by the guidance for its route, not by this page. If you are weighing Academic against General Training, IELTS Academic or General Training compares them.
Where it is taken
Two sources make two separate statements:
- British Council China says UKVI accepts only tests taken at IELTS for UKVI test centres, because UKVI sets extra security requirements for language tests.
- GOV.UK says a Secure English Language Test must have been sat at an approved test location to be accepted.
This page's reading, not a statement from either source: the centre matters as well as the test name. Before you pay, check that the centre you choose appears on the registration site's list for the exact test you are booking, and read GOV.UK's SELT guidance again for its current wording on approved test locations.
The registration site's UKVI lists
The mainland registration site has an IELTS UKVI on computer list of centres and, separately, an IELTS for UKVI Life Skills list. The counts below are our own, taken on 24 October 2026, and the lists change.
| List on ielts.neea.cn | Centres (our count) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS UKVI on computer | 95 | 43 cities, including 10 centres in Beijing, 8 in Shanghai, 5 in Guangzhou and 4 in Chengdu |
| IELTS for UKVI Life Skills | 4 | Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing |
Our guide to IELTS test centres in mainland China goes through the lists city by city. If you book with IDP China instead, check its own pages for what it offers; this page does not cover it.
What GOV.UK says
GOV.UK is where the UK government sets out its own requirements, so it is the page to check before any provider's summary. This section reports only what two GOV.UK pages said when we read them on 24 October 2026.
Secure English Language Tests
The SELT guidance (its page showed a last-updated date of 12 October 2026) says a test must have been sat at an approved test location to be accepted. It lists the IELTS SELT Consortium's tests as "IELTS for UKVI" and "IELTS Life Skills".
Student visa: knowledge of English
GOV.UK's Student visa knowledge-of-English page sets the English level by level of study:
| Level of study | English level the page names |
|---|---|
| Degree level or above | Equivalent to CEFR level B2 |
| Below degree level | CEFR level B1 |
The page gives CEFR levels, not IELTS band scores; it named no IELTS bands when we read it.
For degree level or above, it adds that the university (the page says Higher Education Provider) can assess your English itself, which means it may ask you to do a different test. Ask the university what it wants.
What British Council China's score table says
The same British Council China page carries a score table. The table is undated. The page says it was compiled from the UK government's website at the time of publication, and it tells readers to confirm the latest requirements with the government site or the receiving body. For the Student visa it gives:
| Level of study | Test the table names | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Below degree level | IELTS for UKVI | 4.0 or above in each skill |
| Degree level or above | IELTS or IELTS for UKVI | 5.5 or above in each skill |
Three cautions:
- These are British Council China's figures, not GOV.UK's. GOV.UK's Student visa page, as we read it, gives CEFR levels only.
- A table row is not a ruling on your application. The degree-level row names "IELTS or IELTS for UKVI", yet GOV.UK says the university can assess English itself and may ask for a different test. This page cannot tell you whether any test result will satisfy your application.
- The figures are minimums for each skill, not an overall band, and, like the rest of the table, they are undated. Check the date of anything you rely on.
The visa minimum is not the university's requirement
A visa's English requirement and a university's entry requirement for a course are two separate things. Each can differ from the other, each varies by country, institution and course, and both change over time. This page gives no university scores. IELTS scores for study abroad separates visa minimums from admission requirements, and the university's own page for your course is where its requirement is stated. Requirements change, so check the current GOV.UK page and the university's page rather than relying on this one.
What is different on the day
Two points come from the UKVI sources:
- British Council China's UKVI test-day page says the test is recorded on video throughout, including check-in and every room where the written and Speaking tests take place.
- The UKVI candidate notice on the registration site says candidates have two photographs taken on site on test day.
For the general computer-test routine (arrival, check-in, Speaking by video call) see IELTS test day in mainland China, and read your own booking's instructions for anything that differs.
Questions to ask before you book
These are questions for the UK government page and for your university, not advice:
- Which route is my application on, and what does GOV.UK's page for that route say about English?
- If I am applying to a university: does it assess my English itself, or does it ask for a particular test?
- If a UKVI test is named: which one (Academic, General Training or a Life Skills level), and what must each skill reach?
- Does the centre I want appear on the registration site's list for that exact test?
- How old is the table I am reading? British Council China's is undated.
- Where is the latest wording: on GOV.UK, or from the receiving body?
How one-to-one lessons with Mike fit alongside the test
Band Booster IELTS is a private online tutoring service, not a test centre or the exam board. It does not register candidates, set exam fees or dates, issue results or give visa or immigration advice, and a lesson is practice, not an IELTS for UKVI test. Mike teaches every session himself, one-to-one and live on Google Meet in English, from Hanoi. He holds the Cambridge CELTA (July 2017), has taught English and IELTS for more than twelve years in Vietnam, Turkey and Iran, and scored 8.5 in Speaking in his own IELTS (about Mike).
A session can cover Listening and Reading, Writing Task 1 and Task 2 marked against the public band descriptors (IELTS Writing feedback) and Speaking Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the real test format (IELTS Speaking coaching). Feedback comes during the session, sessions can be recorded on request, and written progress notes follow in your account.
A regular session lasts 60 minutes, a paid 30-minute trial can be taken once on your first booking, and you can reschedule at no charge up to 12 hours before a session. There is no subscription or package. No band is promised: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions.
In mainland China, check Google Meet before you book. Lessons run on Google Meet, and Google services are generally not reachable in mainland China without extra tools (the online IELTS tutor page for China gives the source). Check that the booking page and Google Meet both open from where you will have the lesson, and message Mike first if you are unsure: mkcenter007@gmail.com or +84 383 390 963 (also on Zalo, WhatsApp and Telegram). The email address is a Gmail address, which is a Google service, so the same limits may apply, and you should check which of the others you can use from where you are. No other platform is promised.
The booking page shows each time in your own time zone and your price in your own currency before you pay. The online IELTS tutor page for China explains how booking works, and lessons are the same wherever you live: there are pages for Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. For the Speaking test itself, see IELTS Speaking tutor for mainland China, and for the on-screen format, computer-delivered IELTS in mainland China.
Registration, fees and dates
You register with the test provider, not with Band Booster. How to register for IELTS in mainland China walks through the steps on the mainland registration site; if your provider is IDP China, check its own pages. The provider sets fees and dates and both change, so this page quotes no exam fee or test date.