What the sources list for Kuwait
Everything below was read on 24 October 2026. Lists change, so open the linked page before you plan a journey. This page quotes no exam fee and no test date, because IDP and the British Council set and change them.
- IDP's Kuwait test-dates page lists IDP Education in Salmiya, at Dalal Complex, as one of four centres, and its city filter offers two options: Kuwait City and Salmiya.
- ielts.com.kw, which describes itself as IDP IELTS Kuwait, describes IDP's venues one by one with their areas, and says every test it offers at its Kuwait venues is computer-delivered.
- The ielts.org test centre finder shows 20 listings for Kuwait. Four venues appear twice, so there are 16 distinct venues. Its city filter offers Kuwait, Kuwait City and Mansouriya.
- The British Council venues below come only from the ielts.org finder. The British Council's own Kuwait dates page speaks of 8 locations; when we read it for our Kuwait City page, its text showed no venue names.
Counts differ between sources, so treat each number as that source's own list. Band Booster cannot tell you which venue has a place on which day.
Kuwait's test venues by area, as the sources word it
The finder does not group venues by area, so the table groups them by the area words the sources use. Where a listing sits at a school, institute or training provider, the row describes it by type and area; the ielts.org finder shows the exact name. Tags are the finder's unless a row says the detail comes from a provider's page.
| Area wording | Venue and address as listed | Listed by | Labels and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salmiya | IDP Education in Salmiya: Dalal Complex, 9th floor, Salem Al Mubarak Street | IDP | Finder tags: UKVI Approved, Computer, One Skill Retake. Its ielts.org centre page shows four computer tests: Academic, General Training, UKVI Academic and UKVI General Training. ielts.com.kw calls it IDP's main centre. |
| Salmiya | A second listing, named IDP Kuwait City, at the same Dalal Complex address | IDP | Tagged UKVI Approved but not Computer, the only one of the 20 listings without a Computer tag; see the computer section below. |
| Salmiya | American University of Kuwait (AUK): 15 Salem Al Mubarak St, Salmiya, Gate 6, Kuwait City | British Council | UKVI Approved, Computer. Listed twice. |
| Salmiya | A school on Hamad Al-Mubarak Street, Salmiya | British Council | Computer, One Skill Retake. |
| None named | The View Mall, Salem Al Mubarak Street, Block 2, opposite AUK, Mezzanine 1 | British Council | UKVI Approved, Computer, One Skill Retake. The listing names no area, so we do not place it in Salmiya. |
| Sharq (IDP); Kuwait City (ielts.org) | 16th Floor, Ahmad Tower, Arabian Gulf Street (ielts.com.kw and ielts.org). IDP writes Ahmed Tower, 16th Floor, Arabian Gulf Road. | IDP | Finder tags: UKVI Approved, Computer, One Skill Retake. ielts.com.kw places the venue in Sharq, in central Kuwait City, handy for the capital and the surrounding business districts. ielts.org's centre page for a venue at this address lists four computer tests, two of them UKVI tests, and files it under Kuwait City. |
| Kuwait City (in the address text) | An education services provider in Alsanabel Tower, M2, Unit 61 | British Council | Listed twice, once with a UKVI Approved tag and once without. Both carry Computer and One Skill Retake. |
| Mansouriya | Computer Lab, Essa Abdullah Bahman Street, Block 2, Mansouriya | British Council | UKVI Approved, Computer, One Skill Retake. |
| Sabah Al Salem | Block 2, Street 209 | IDP | Finder tags: UKVI Approved, Computer, One Skill Retake. ielts.com.kw describes IDP's Sabah Al Salem venue as serving Sabah Al Salem and the southern residential suburbs, without a street address. IDP's test-dates page gives the address of its Sabah Al Salem centre as Block 2, Street 209, and ielts.org's centre page for a venue at that address lists four computer tests. |
| Sabah Al Salem | An institute at Block 1, 112st, E457, Building E2, Floor 1 (the listing spells the area Sabah Alsalem) | British Council | Computer, One Skill Retake. Listed twice. |
| Abu Halifa | A college venue in Abu Halifa | IDP | Finder tags: UKVI Approved, Computer, One Skill Retake. IDP's test-dates page titles its Abu Halifa centre by this college, and ielts.com.kw describes IDP's Abu Halifa venue as on the coast, close to Mahboula, Mangaf and the Ahmadi Governorate. ielts.org's centre page for the college lists four computer tests, including UKVI. |
| Abu Halifa | A training and consulting provider at Block 2, Street Abdulmalek Bin Marwan, Building 78 | British Council | Computer, One Skill Retake. |
| Egaila | An academy on the 6th floor of Awtad Mall, Block 5 | British Council | Computer, One Skill Retake. Listed twice. |
| Shadadiya campus | A listing named IDP IELTS Kuwait - Kuwait University in Al Shadadiya: 2nd Floor, University Administration Building, Shadadiya Campus, Kuwait University | IDP (by its listing name) | Computer. It is not one of the four centres that IDP's test-dates page titles by area (Salmiya, Sharq, Sabah Al Salem and Abu Halifa; see our Kuwait City page), and the pages we read do not explain the difference, so ask IDP. |
| Shadadiya campus | College of Business Administration - Kuwait University | British Council | Computer, One Skill Retake. |
| Mishref | A university campus: Masjid Al Aqsa Street, Mubarak Al-Abdullah, Mishref; Block 5, Gate 1 | British Council | Computer, One Skill Retake. |
Reading the table
- Twenty listings, sixteen venues. The American University of Kuwait, the Alsanabel Tower venue, the Sabah Al Salem institute and the Egaila academy are each listed twice, which gives 16 by name. The two Dalal Complex listings share one address, so counted by address the total would be lower. The finder does not group by area, so this page does not rank areas by number of venues.
- One address, two area words. The 16th-floor Ahmad Tower address is Sharq for IDP and Kuwait City for ielts.org, and appears to be the same venue, though neither source says so. "Kuwait City" also ends several other addresses, including ones that name Salmiya, Sabah Alsalem or Abu Halifa. Our Kuwait City page covers that label. Match the building and street, not just the area word.
- A listing with no area. The View Mall address names no area, so it has its own row, though the address says it is opposite AUK.
IELTS on computer at Kuwait's venues
ielts.com.kw, which describes itself as IDP IELTS Kuwait, says every test it offers at its Kuwait venues is computer-delivered. In the ielts.org finder, 19 of the 20 listings carry a Computer tag (four venues appear twice). The exception is the second Dalal Complex listing, named IDP Kuwait City, which is tagged UKVI Approved but not Computer. The other listing at that address, IDP Education in Salmiya, carries both tags, so read the missing tag as an inconsistency between listings, not a fact about the test.
Some provider pages still mention paper in places. For how IDP, the British Council and ielts.org word the format across Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, see computer-delivered IELTS in those five countries, and confirm the format on the session you book.
UKVI Approved and One Skill Retake labels
UKVI. In the finder, the UKVI Approved tag appears on 10 of the 20 listings: IDP Education in Salmiya, the second Dalal Complex listing, both American University of Kuwait listings, The View Mall listing, the Ahmad Tower venue, one of the two Alsanabel Tower listings, the Computer Lab in Mansouriya, the Block 2, Street 209 venue and the Abu Halifa college venue. Whether you need an IELTS for UKVI test is for the organisation or visa route asking for your result to say; this page gives no visa advice. Our page on IELTS for UKVI and Life Skills in Kuwait covers it.
One Skill Retake. In the finder, 16 of the 20 listings carry the tag; the table shows which. A tag on one card is not a promise for every session, so check the session you need. For when a retake makes sense, read One Skill Retake or a full retake.
Before you book a session in Kuwait
General advice, not guidance from IDP, the British Council or ielts.org:
- Choose the provider first. IDP and the British Council each show their own sessions. Pick the provider, then a session, and note the venue and address the session names.
- Compare the building and street. The sources do not always use the same area word for one address, so compare the tower or mall, the street and the floor with the finder.
- Check the tags on the session you book. Two listings of one venue can differ, as the Alsanabel Tower pair does for UKVI.
- Do not read posted hours as test times. ielts.com.kw lists Saturday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday closed, beside its Salmiya address. The page does not say these are test-day hours or that they apply to its other venues, so take the date and start time from the booking page.
- Read the venue in the booking confirmation before you travel. If it does not match what you expected from the finder, ask the provider. For ID and payment at booking, see our page on booking IELTS in Kuwait.
Where online lessons with Mike fit
Band Booster IELTS is a private online tutoring service. It is not a test centre, it has no centre in Kuwait, it is independent of IDP, the British Council, any university and any government body, and it does not register you, hold a place, set test fees or dates, or issue results. You book the test with IDP or the British Council.
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). A lesson covers 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 lesson. Because lessons are online, the venue you choose for the test does not change where you study.
Kuwait 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 Kuwait: online IELTS tutoring for Kuwait City, IELTS results, the Test Report Form and re-marking in Kuwait, IELTS for Kuwait University undergraduate admission, online IELTS tutoring for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman and online IELTS tutoring by country.