What IELTS score is required for New Zealand immigration?
Quick answer
For a New Zealand skilled residence visa the principal applicant needs an IELTS overall score of 6.5 or more, and a partner, or a dependent child aged 16 or older, needs 5 or more. As read on Immigration New Zealand's page on 11 November 2026, IELTS General or Academic and IELTS One Skill Retake are accepted.
Practise what this page describes in the app: Speaking and Writing marked on the four official criteria as a band range, Reading and Listening tests marked the moment you finish.
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Part of The IELTS test, answered
Requirements change, and the Immigration New Zealand page is the authority. What follows is the page “English language requirements for skilled residence visas”, read on 11 November 2026. It applies to the Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa, the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa, the Straight to Residence Visa, the Transport Work to Residence Visa and the Work to Residence Visa. The page says: “A higher standard of English is required for a skilled residence visa than for other residence visas.”
What Immigration New Zealand asks for in IELTS
| Who | IELTS minimum |
|---|---|
| Principal applicant | “Overall score of 6.5 or more” |
| Partner (any age), or dependent child aged 16 or older | “Overall score of 5 or more” |
| Dependent child under 16 | No English requirement |
The figure is an overall score. The overall band is the average of your four skills, rounded to the nearest half band, and each skill is reported as a whole or half band. The band score calculator shows your overall band from four skill bands.
Meeting the requirement without a test
A principal applicant can show English through citizenship, work and study, or an English test. A partner, or a dependent child aged 16 or older, has the same two ways, or English lessons in New Zealand, an option for them only. The page lists three ways to meet the requirement without a test:
- Being a citizen of Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States who has spent at least 5 years working or studying in one of those countries, or in Australia or New Zealand.
- Holding a qualification comparable with a New Zealand level 7 bachelor’s degree, gained in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the US, having lived there at least 2 years while studying.
- Holding a postgraduate qualification at level 8 or above, gained in one of those countries, having lived there at least 1 year while studying.
Test conditions
Tests are taken in person at a test centre. The page states that “Tests taken remotely outside of a test centre, such as ‘at home’ tests are not acceptable”. The result must be no more than 2 years old when you apply. For IELTS, the page accepts the General or Academic module and IELTS One Skill Retake. It also accepts TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, B2 First, B2 First for Schools and OET; their scores are on the page. See what the two IELTS versions are and what One Skill Retake is.
Canada’s Express Entry does not accept One Skill Retake, so the same result can count in one country and not in the other. The Canada answer has the detail.
Before you book
Open the Immigration New Zealand page for your visa and check the figure for your role in the application. A published minimum does not promise an outcome, because the visa has other requirements. How long a result stays valid is covered in how long IELTS results are valid.
What this means for your score
A principal applicant sits IELTS Academic in person and scores Listening 7, Reading 6.5, Writing 6 and Speaking 6.5. The average is 6.5, so the overall score is 6.5, which is the figure Immigration New Zealand names for a principal applicant. The partner scores an overall 5.5, which is above the 5 named for a partner. Each person is compared with their own figure.
Frequently asked questions
Does New Zealand accept IELTS General Training?
Yes. Immigration New Zealand lists the IELTS General or Academic module among the accepted tests for skilled residence visas, and it names the same overall figure for both. The test must be taken in person at a test centre, so check that your booking is not an at-home test before you sit it.
Does New Zealand accept IELTS One Skill Retake?
Yes. Immigration New Zealand lists IELTS One Skill Retake (OSR) among the accepted tests for skilled residence visas. This differs from Canada's Express Entry, which does not accept it, as the Canada answer explains. Read the Immigration New Zealand page again before you book, because requirements change.
What IELTS score does my partner need?
A partner, of any age, or a dependent child aged 16 or older needs an IELTS overall score of 5 or more, against 6.5 or more for the principal applicant. Immigration New Zealand states that there is no English requirement for children under 16. A partner can also show English by other routes listed on the page.
Can I meet the requirement without IELTS?
A principal applicant can show English through citizenship, work and study, or an English test, and IELTS is only one test. Some citizens of Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States qualify without a test, as do some holders of a qualification gained in certain countries. The conditions are on the Immigration New Zealand page.
Sources
- English language requirements for skilled residence visas — Immigration New Zealand
- IELTS scoring in detail: band scores explained — IELTS.org
Last verified 11 Nov 2026
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