What was read, and where
Everything on this page was read on 24 October 2026 from IDP's Saudi Arabia test-dates page, IDP's Dhahran venue page, the ielts.org finder and two British Council pages, dates, fees and locations and IELTS for UKVI. Lists change, so treat this as a dated snapshot. It covers only the entries we read, so a town missing here may still have a venue. It quotes no exam fee and no test date: the providers set and change those.
Universities and the providers are named as the lists name them; other venues are described by street and district, and the booking page for your session gives the exact name and address. A university named in a provider's list is not thereby connected with Band Booster IELTS.
The entries side by side
| Place | Listed by | What the entry shows |
|---|---|---|
| Dammam | IDP, test-dates list | A venue called IDP Education Dammam, at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (West C1), with “One Skill Retake available” beside it |
| Dammam | ielts.org finder | A British Council centre on Al Ashriah Street, two listings, one tagged UKVI Approved; the address line ends with the combined name “Alkhobar/ Dammam” |
| Al Khobar | IDP, test-dates list | A venue on King Fahad Bin Abdulaziz Road (Al Qashlah district, behind Al-Kifah Tower), with One Skill Retake available |
| Al Khobar | IDP, test-dates list | A further venue on Makkah Almukarrama Street, in the Olaya Southern Centre, 1st floor, with One Skill Retake available |
| Al Khobar | ielts.org finder | Two British Council centres, one on Abdulrahman Ibn Muath Street (Al Jisr District) and one on Abdullah Ibn Hizam Street, each tagged Computer and One Skill Retake |
| Dhahran | IDP, venue page and test-dates list | A venue at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), with One Skill Retake available. The page's main heading is “IDP Dhahran”; a breadcrumb label on it reads “IDP Dhahran - KFUPM Males & Females” |
| KFUPM | ielts.org finder | A British Council centre, four listings; three are tagged UKVI Approved, Computer and One Skill Retake, and one is tagged Computer (Writing on Paper) |
| Qatif | ielts.org finder | A British Council centre in the Az Zahra area, three listings, each tagged Computer and One Skill Retake |
| Al-Ahsa (Al Hofuf) | IDP, test-dates list | A venue on King Khalid Road, Al Hofuf, with One Skill Retake available |
| Al-Ahsa | ielts.org finder, Al-Ahsa | A British Council centre on Al Dhahran Street, two listings, each tagged UKVI Approved, Computer and One Skill Retake |
The finder also carries IDP entries for Dammam, for the Al Khobar venue on King Fahad Bin Abdulaziz Road and for Al Hofuf. Even so, the three sources are separate, so a town can appear in one and not in another; an absence is not proof that no test is held there, so ask the provider. For the country as a whole, see IELTS test centres in Saudi Arabia, city by city.
Dammam and Al Khobar
IDP's list includes two Al Khobar venues on different streets, King Fahad Bin Abdulaziz Road and Makkah Almukarrama Street, so check which one your session names before you travel.
In Dammam, IDP's venue is at a university and the finder's British Council centre is on Al Ashriah Street. The British Council's own pages name Dammam in their sentences about computer IELTS, paper IELTS and IELTS for UKVI (table below) but name Al Khobar in none, although the finder lists British Council centres there.
Dhahran and KFUPM
IDP lists a Dhahran venue at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. A breadcrumb label on its venue page mentions males and females; we take nothing from that label beyond the fact that it is shown, so read the booking conditions for your session on the provider's own page, and see our page on women's and men's test centres.
The finder lists a British Council centre at KFUPM as well, with four listings. Its address line, “KFUPM square, Alkhobar/ Dammam”, does not say Dhahran, and the four listings share it but not the same tags, so read the tag on your own session.
Qatif and Al-Ahsa
Qatif. The finder lists a British Council centre in the Az Zahra area, three listings, each tagged Computer and One Skill Retake; none carries UKVI Approved. Neither the British Council's computer sentence nor its paper list names Qatif, and among the sources used for this page only the finder does. We cannot say which source is more recent, so confirm the format and address on the booking page for your date.
Al-Ahsa. IDP's venue is in Al Hofuf and the finder's British Council centre is on Al Dhahran Street; each source spells the region differently (see below).
Computer, paper and IELTS for UKVI: what the British Council says
Three British Council sentences matter here. Its dates, fees and locations page says you can take IELTS on computer at its test centres in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, and says you may prefer paper at one of its centres in a list of places that includes Dammam, Al-Hassa and Jubail. Its UKVI page says it offers IELTS for UKVI in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al-Ahsa. For this area, that gives:
| Place | Computer sentence | Paper sentence | IELTS for UKVI sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dammam | Named | Named | Named |
| Al-Ahsa | Not named | Named, written Al-Hassa | Named |
| Al Khobar, Dhahran or KFUPM, Qatif | Not named | Not named | Not named |
“Not named” means the sentence does not name the place, not that the British Council has no centre there. Dammam is the only place in this area named in all three sentences. The finder shows more: it tags British Council listings in Dammam, Al Khobar, Qatif and Al-Ahsa, and three of the four at KFUPM, as Computer. We cannot reconcile the two, so the booking page for your date decides which format applies. For the Gulf as a whole, see computer-delivered IELTS in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
One Skill Retake and UKVI Approved on the listings
One Skill Retake. IDP's test-dates list shows “One Skill Retake available” beside each of its five entries here: Dammam, both Al Khobar venues, Dhahran and Al Hofuf. The finder tags the British Council listings in Dammam, Al Khobar, Qatif and Al-Ahsa with it, and three of the four at KFUPM. See One Skill Retake in Saudi Arabia.
UKVI Approved. On the finder, the tag appears on both Al-Ahsa listings, on one of the two British Council listings in Dammam, on three of the four KFUPM listings and on the IDP entries for Dammam and Al Khobar, but not on the Qatif listings or the British Council's Al Khobar listings. A tag on one listing is not proof that another carries it, so read the tag on your own session. Whether you need IELTS for UKVI is for the organisation or visa route asking for your result to say, and this page gives no visa advice. See IELTS for UKVI in Saudi Arabia.
Names, spellings and addresses
The same place is written several ways, and the finder's city menu shows it. On 24 October 2026 it offered Al Ahsa and Al-Ahsa as separate choices (IDP's Al Hofuf entry under the first, the two British Council listings under the second), and Dammam, Al Khobar and the combined Alkhobar/ Dammam as three more. Dammam showed one listing, Al Khobar two and Alkhobar/ Dammam nine, all British Council, so a search for Dammam alone would not have shown the British Council centre on Al Ashriah Street.
- Al-Ahsa. The finder and the British Council's UKVI sentence write Al-Ahsa and its paper list writes Al-Hassa; IDP's city menu says Al Hasa, one of its headings says Al Ahsa and the venue's address says Al Hofuf.
- KFUPM. IDP writes King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals; the finder writes King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals-(KFUPM). IDP's own Dhahran address line also names Al Khobar.
- Dammam. The finder's address line for the Al Ashriah Street centre spells it “Damamm”.
- Streets. An Al Khobar venue with the same name on IDP's list and on the finder is on Makkah Almukarrama Street for IDP and on Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Road (Al Hada) for the finder.
Treat any address here as a pointer, not as directions; use the address on the booking page for your session.
How to check a venue before you book
This is general advice, not guidance from IDP, the British Council or ielts.org.
- Start from the provider you will book with. IDP and the British Council show their own sessions.
- Match the street, not only the town. Two sources can give one venue different addresses.
- Try more than one spelling and city choice. Al Ahsa, Al-Ahsa, Al-Hassa, Al Hofuf, Dammam and Alkhobar/ Dammam can give different results.
- Confirm the format on the session itself. Where sources disagree, as with Qatif, follow the booking page for your date.
- Read the tags on your session. Computer, One Skill Retake and UKVI Approved can differ even at one address.
- Read the booking and ID rules before you pay. See our guide to booking IELTS in Saudi Arabia.
Where online lessons with Mike fit
Band Booster IELTS is a private online tutoring service. It is not a test centre, it is independent of IDP, the British Council and Cambridge University Press & Assessment, and it does not register you, hold a place, set test fees or dates, or issue results.
Every lesson is one-to-one on Google Meet in English with Mike, who holds the Cambridge CELTA, teaches from Hanoi and scored 8.5 in Speaking in his own IELTS (about Mike). Lessons cover Listening, Reading, Writing (Task 1 and Task 2, marked against the public band descriptors) and Speaking (Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the real test format), with feedback during the session. More on Speaking: IELTS Speaking coaching for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
Because lessons are online, you can join from Dammam, Al Khobar, Dhahran, Qatif, Al-Ahsa or anywhere else in Saudi Arabia, and the venue you choose for the test does not change where you study. The booking calendar shows each slot in your own time zone. Saudi Arabia is in a higher regional price tier than Vietnam, 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 at no charge up to 12 hours before a session. No band is guaranteed: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions.
More for Saudi Arabia: test centres in Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah and Taif; online tutoring for Riyadh, Jeddah and Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman; or by country.