catkins110

ok so I've spoken to an agent and he says to gain the necessary points hubby needs to sit the IELTS test.... I've been looking on line and there are test papers you can buy.... but there are two types Academic and General.... any recommendations?... he is quite intelligent but thought id purchase these to give him an idea on the content?.... how ha everyone scored on these tests? are they hard?
claire

old.sparkles

Hi Claire,

If OH only needs IELTS for points, general test will do. I did the academic test twice - 1st time after a night shift, only got 7.5 in listening, 2nd time was all 9's. I didn't buy any practice material, but found free stuff online, including sample writing pieces

Bermudashorts

The general IELTS is sufficient for points for the visa occupation, however note that there are a small number of occupations that require the academic version for skills assessment, so look into that first.

The test should be pretty straightforward for any literate native English speaker, it is hard for people that don't fall into that profile.

catkins110

this is literally my first day of making calls to get the ball rolling... not actually sure what visa we will be applying for... I'm guessing skilled as he's an electrician... there are so many different ones! I think I will order these papers so at least he gets a heads up b4 he goes in! lol..... I'm gonna be spending the day finding an agent I think! thank you for the advice! x

old.sparkles

You may also want to have a look at the electricians forum - http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=97 and have a look at what will be required to pass the skills assessment before spending money on IELTS

gossage

Once you actually book your test you get access to free online training. I wouldn't bother to fork out cash. I personally think the reading is the most difficult but it is just a matter of technique which you will get to grips with in the free online stuff.