British Council IELTS for UKVI: cancellations and transfers policy for test takers

Submission Timeline

More than 14 Days before IELTS for UKVI LRW Exams (Listening/Reading/Writing) or IELTS for Life Skills LS Exams (Listening/Speaking)

E.g. LRW or LS Test Date – 25 Jul. / Deadline – 11 Jul.

• New Test Date has to be within the next 3 months from your original test date.
• If your preferred test date is more than 3 months after the original test date, then your transfer will be treated as a cancellation.
• You can only transfer the same booking once.

Admin Fee

* Non-Refundable & Subject to change.

IELTS for UKVI – Rs. 18,500.00 (Sri Lanka) / MVR 875.00 (Maldives)
IELTS for UKVI Life Skills (A1 or B1) – Rs. 13,800.00

Note: If Exam Fee has been increased since your registration, fee difference would need to be paid.

Within 14 days of the test, no test date transfers are accepted. Candidates will need to apply for a refund, under the standard IELTS for UKVI and IELTS for UKVI Life Skills refund guidelines.   

How to Pay

Using "Online Bank Transfer" to our account.

Note: We accept ONLY Online Bank Transfers or Over the Counter Payments at Banks. EasyPay/ATM/CDM Machine Payments NOT Accepted.

Sri Lanka	Maldives
Bank: HSBC	Bank: Bank of Ceylon
Branch: PO Box 73, Colombo 1	Branch: Aage’ Boduthakurufaanu Magu, Male’, Maldives
Account Name: British Council	Account Name: British Council
Account Number: 001-002377-002	Account Number: 6320346392
Narration: UKVI / Life Skills Transfer - Passport Number	Currency: MVR
	Swift Code: BCEYMVMV
	Narration: UKVI / Life Skills Transfer - Passport Number

Required Documents – Copy of Passport & Online Bank Transfer Slip.

How to Apply

Step 1 – Make the Payment.

Step 2 – Email the “Required Documents” to LK-bankdeposits@britishcouncil.lk before the deadline with the subject line "IELTS for UKVI / IELTS for UKVI Life Skills Transfer - Passport Number".

Note the “Reference Number” received in the automated reply.
E.g. CS-12345678

Step 3 – Fill this “Online Form” before the deadline.

We will update you within 3 days of submission. 

Please ensure the above steps are duly followed and the form is accurately filled. Late, Incomplete and/or Inaccurate responses will be rejected.

Important:

• British Council reserves the right to seek "Supporting Documentary Evidence" to process your request, where applicable.
• New Test Date should be at least 7 Days after Form Submission and within 3 Months of Original Test Date. Transfers are not allowed outside this timeline and will be treated as cancellations as per Section A given above.
• Candidates are allowed ONLY One Transfer per Booking.
• Test Dates are subjected to availability and will only be confirmed upon receipt of the duly completed form, passport copy and payment. If any of your selection is unavailable, we will be in touch to discuss the next available options.
• We will only consider the first response. Hence, do not submit this form multiple times.
• Acceptance or Rejection will be at the sole discretion of British Council and/or Exam Board. We will notify you within 3 days from submission.
• Any payment made to the British Council that cannot be traced to the customer, who transferred the amount, within 30 working days will not be refunded.

Notes

i. Your Test Centre is responsible for issuing refunds and organizing transfers.

ii. Under section A. 2., the Test Centre is responsible for decisions related to test taker claims for exceptional circumstances.

iii. Under section A. 3., the Test Centre is responsible for decisions related to compensation, including eligibility and any amounts awarded.

iv. If local consumer protection law in the country you have registered to take the IELTS test provides for cancellation and transfer rights which are more favourable to the test taker than the rights set out above, then local consumer protection law will apply.

IELTS Cancellation Policy: You can cancel your IELTS test registration at any time before taking your test by notifying your Test Centre. IELTS refund policy depends on when you cancel and whether exceptional circumstances apply.

Type 1 - Time to Test Date

• This is applicable for candidates who submit refund requests without any supporting documentation or evidence.
• Refundable amount will depend on when the application was submitted.
• Below table contains the amount the candidate will receive in line with the application submission date.
• This is NOT an admin fee but the amount the candidate will receive.

Time to Test Date	Refundable Amount (UKVI - Sri Lanka)	Refundable Amount (UKVI - Maldives)	Refundable Amount (Life Skills - Sri Lanka)	How to Apply
More than 14 days before the test	LKR 58,875.00	MVR 3,375.00	LKR 46,875.00	Through Test Taker Portal Easy Step Guide
Within 14 days but 2 days before the test	LKR 39,250.00	MVR 2,250.00	LKR 31,250.00
Within 2 days of the test	LKR 19,625.00	MVR 1,125.00	LKR 15,625.00
On the test day or after the test	No Refund	No Refund	No Refund	N/A

 * Effective from 18 February 2025

Type 2 - Test Taker Exceptions

• This is applicable for candidates who missed their test under exceptional circumstances and are requesting for a refund.
• Application Submission Deadline – No later than 2 days after the test date.
• All exceptional cases must be supported by evidence and applied through Test Taker Portal.
• Exceptional circumstances can be:
  i) Serious Medical Conditions - Medical Certificate
  ii) Evidence of bereavement, trauma or other forms of significant hardship - Copy of Death Certificate / Medical / Police Report
  iii) Military service - Official Letter
  iv) We can also receive other less common reasons, which we can accept if the candidate can submit satisfactory evidence
• If request is approved, candidate will receive a refund minus the below admin fee:
  i) IELTS for UKVI Admin Fee – LKR 18,500.00 (Sri Lanka) / MVR 1,125.00 (Maldives)
  ii) IELTS for UKVI Life Skills Admin Fee – LKR 13,800.00

Type 3 - Test Centre Exceptions

Under certain circumstances outside Test Centre control, we may have to cancel your test. These circumstances include and are not limited to extreme weather conditions, natural disaster, civil unrest and industrial action. In such an event, the candidate will be offered a full refund or a free test date transfer.