Your journey to New Zealand begins with IELTS

IELTS is a high stakes English test for anyone looking to live, work or study in New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand accepts IELTS as evidence of your English abilities for your visa application.

With IELTS you can be confident that you are taking a test that is trusted by institutions and organisations throughout New Zealand. In fact, all universities, colleges and professional associations in New Zealand that have set minimum language requirements to accept IELTS.

What score do you need?

The IELTS score you need depends on the requirements of your visa and the organisation where you plan to study or work.

Different visas require different IELTS results – find out the test results required for your visa to New Zealand.

You have a choice of two tests – IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training – depending on the requirements set by the organisation where you plan to work or study.

You can find out who accepts IELTS and check the score required by your organisation or institution.

Find a test date

There are 16 test locations in New Zealand. Many of them are conveniently located in educational institutions.

Prepare for your test

Preparing for your test is an important part of the process. We have developed a range of free resources to help you improve your English language skills, including the Information for Candidates booklet (PDF, 1,021KB), sample questions, and the Official IELTS Practice Materials. These include samples of past Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking sections, complete with sample answers and examiner comments. 

Practice materials are also available for purchase from local test centres.

Are you a native English speaker?

Native English speakers are also strongly advised to prepare for the IELTS test. It is easy to feel overconfident about the test when you have been using English all your life. But, if you want to achieve the best possible score for your test, you need to familiarise yourself with the test format. You can also access preparation materials to ensure you are ready for test day.