Online only: there is no classroom in any of these five countries
Band Booster has no classroom, branch or group class in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain or Oman. Every lesson is one-to-one and live on Google Meet, taught by Mike from Hanoi, Vietnam, so you join from home. If you need a teacher in the same room, or classmates, a local option will suit you better.
The time gap: 4 hours behind Hanoi, or 3 in Oman
Hanoi is on UTC+7. According to the IANA time zone database (Kuwait, Bahrain and Muscat appear as links in its backward file), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain are on UTC+3 and Oman is on UTC+4, and none of them, or Vietnam, uses daylight saving. So the gap is the same all year: Hanoi is 4 hours ahead of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, and 3 hours ahead of Oman. For example, 20:00 in Hanoi is 16:00 in Riyadh and 17:00 in Muscat.
| Country | Time compared with Hanoi (UTC+7) | Provider pages for registration, fees, dates and test locations |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | UTC+3: 4 hours behind Hanoi | IDP Saudi Arabia; British Council Saudi Arabia |
| Qatar | UTC+3: 4 hours behind Hanoi | IDP Qatar; British Council Qatar |
| Kuwait | UTC+3: 4 hours behind Hanoi | IDP Kuwait; British Council Kuwait |
| Bahrain | UTC+3: 4 hours behind Hanoi | IDP Bahrain; British Council Bahrain |
| Oman | UTC+4: 3 hours behind Hanoi | IDP Oman; British Council Oman |
The booking calendar shows open slots in your own timezone. No particular hours are promised, so check the calendar before you plan sessions around a test date. Students in the UAE have a separate UAE page.
Registering for IELTS: IDP and the British Council in all five countries
Band Booster IELTS is a private tutor, not the exam board or a test centre: it does not register students, set fees, choose test dates or issue results. According to ielts.org, IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Mike's CELTA is a Cambridge teaching qualification, which is separate from running the exam. This page quotes no fees or dates because they change. The points below come from the providers' country pages and ielts.org, read in October 2026; check them before you book.
IDP and the British Council both run IELTS in all five countries, and the table above links to their pages. The test centre finder on ielts.org lists test centres in each country, including some whose listings name neither provider, so check it too.
Format: IELTS on computer, Speaking with a live examiner
The provider pages describe IELTS on computer at a test centre: Listening and Reading on screen, and Writing on screen in the standard format. ielts.org says Writing on Paper, where you take the rest on computer but handwrite the Writing section, is offered in selected countries; its finder lists it at some centres in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, and the British Council's Qatar page says it is not available for UKVI tests. IDP and ielts.org describe Speaking as face to face with an examiner. The British Council's Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar pages say some of its centres use video-call Speaking.
In a 5 March 2026 notice, ielts.org said IELTS would no longer be offered as a paper-based test from mid-2026, with timelines varying by market, yet some provider pages here still mention paper, so confirm the format of the session you book.
For IELTS on computer, the British Council's pages in these countries say results typically arrive within two days, and IDP's give 1 to 5 days (business days in Qatar and Kuwait). These are typical times, not promises.
One Skill Retake
Both providers list IELTS One Skill Retake in all five countries, though not at every centre. IDP's pages say your full test must be an eligible IELTS on computer test, the retake must be sat within 60 days, and a full test taken with IDP means retaking at an eligible IDP centre. The British Council's pages say it is available for Academic, General Training and IELTS for UKVI on computer. Check availability with your test centre; see One Skill Retake or a full retake for how to choose.
IELTS for UKVI
ielts.org says any IELTS taken for a UK Visas and Immigration application must be taken at an official test centre. The British Council lists IELTS for UKVI in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al-Ahsa), Qatar (Doha), Kuwait (Salmiya and Mansouriya), Bahrain (Manama) and Oman (Muscat). IDP's Saudi Arabia and Oman test-dates pages also list it, and its Kuwait and Bahrain sites list it among their tests. To check a centre, use ielts.org's finder, which tags some centres as UKVI Approved, and confirm the test and format with the centre before booking.
Check the requirement with the organisation that sets it. This page states no score requirement for any university, employer, regulator or visa. Ask the organisation that will receive your result which test it accepts and what score it needs.
Price tier and where to read more
These five countries are in a higher regional price tier than Vietnam. The booking page shows yours in your own currency before you pay; this page quotes no price. Mike's background and session details are on about Mike and the online IELTS tutor page (its prices are for Vietnam); private tutor or group course is written for Hanoi.