IELTS cancellation and refund policy

If you cancel your IELTS test up to five weeks before (IELTS on Paper) and up to 2 weeks before (IELTS on Computer) the test date, you will receive a refund minus an administration fee of 30000 KZT.

The British Council cannot make payments to banks (or other financial institutions) sanctioned by the UK or any other relevant jurisdiction. If you request a refund to be sent to an account at a sanctioned bank and/or sanctioned financial institution, you will be asked to nominate an alternative method of payment that does not breach sanctions. Failure to provide an alternative method of payment will result in non-payment of the relevant funds.

Please note that refunds can take up to four to six weeks to process.

No refunds will be allowed for IELTS if there is less time left than stated above.

To cancel your IELTS (Academic and General Training) test, please log in to Test Taker Portal and submit a cancellation request, along with an upload of supporting documentation/evidence.

If you need to change the date of your test from the date you originally booked, you can request a test day transfer up to five weeks before the test date for IELTS on Paper, up to 2 weeks before the test date for IELTS on Computer, free of charge.

You must select a test date, where available, within the next three months from your original test date. If your preferred test date is more than three months after your original test date, then your transfer will be treated as a cancellation.

If you receive a transfer to a new test date (either before the test or due to illness) and are unable to take the test on the second test date, then you are not entitled to a refund of the test fee nor to any further transfer to a new test date.

If you take the main part of the test (Listening, Reading, Writing) and unable to take Speaking part of the test or vice versa, then you are not entitled to a refund of the test fee nor to any further transfer to a new test date.

To apply for a test date transfer, please download and complete Test Date Transfer Form and send it via email to info@kz.britishcouncil.org. You can find the document below in the download section. Do not forget to attach test taker ID and supporting documentation/evidence.

On rare occasions, there may be instances where you are unable to attend your test or are disadvantaged on the test day owing to illness, injury, or another exceptional event outside your control and you no longer qualify for a standard cancellation, refund or transfer close to the test date. In these cases, including instances such as bereavement, civil unrest or domestic crisis, you may make an application to your test centre for special consideration due to exceptional circumstances. You can find more information on this process here. 

If your test centre approves your application for special consideration, you will receive a refund or transfer. In some cases, this will be subject to an administrative fee of 30000 KZT. 

Under certain circumstances outside of test centre control, we may have to cancel your test and transfer it to a future date. These circumstances include, but may not be limited to, extreme weather conditions, natural disaster, civil unrest, industrial action, global pandemic or for reasons of force majeure.

In these circumstances, your test centre will provide you with as much notice as possible and give you the choice of either a full refund, or a transfer to a future test date – whichever you prefer.

If your test is cancelled or postponed due to other circumstances such as technical failure, venue or environmental factors, your test centre will provide you with as much notice as possible and give you the choice of a refund or a transfer to a future test.