IELTS, TOEFL, GRE End in Iran; Turkey and Armenia Test Trips Also Blocked for Residents

International English-language tests have all but disappeared from Iran over the past year, leaving people who need scores for study, work or emigration to book trips abroad — or give up. IELTS stopped in late December 2025, and TOEFL and GRE were cut off in late August 2026.

Key facts

• IDP Education, the Australian firm that jointly administers IELTS with the British Council, stopped offering the exam in Iran in late December 2025, citing financial and regulatory problems.
• In late August, Washington suspended a sanctions license that had allowed American educational providers to serve people in Iran since 2014, cutting off TOEFL and GRE, both run by the US-based Educational Testing Service (ETS).
• ETS says it cannot process registrations or payments for anyone living in Iran, even if they plan to take the test in another country.
• British Council rules bar Iran residents from taking its IELTS exam even in Turkey or Armenia; only people with legal residency outside Iran are eligible.
• One applicant paid about $600 in total for exam fees, travel and a tour package — more than six months of the average wage in Iran.
• Travel agencies now sell "IELTS tours" to Doha, Istanbul, Ankara, Van in eastern Turkey, Dubai, Yerevan and Tbilisi.

What has changed?

The squeeze began when IDP Education pulled IELTS from Iran in late December 2025. Access to the Duolingo English Test has also been restricted, and in late August the United States suspended the sanctions license that had let American educational providers serve people in Iran since 2014, ending TOEFL and GRE access.

A source familiar with IELTS operations in Iran said the problems started in 2025, when IDP required test centres to pay from within their own country. Banking sanctions made transfers from Iran impossible, and centres' mounting debts to IDP led to cuts in registration.

Who is affected?

Anyone living in Iran who needs an English score for university admission, work or emigration is affected, as are Iranians already living abroad. Duolingo does not accept test takers whose only identity documents were issued by Iran; its support team confirmed that using an Iranian passport to take the test is not permitted, even for those with foreign residency or a work or study permit.

Afghans living in Iran face higher barriers still: unlike Iranians, they need visas in advance to enter Turkey and Armenia, putting the exams further out of reach.

How much does testing abroad cost?

A master's student who had studied English full time for two years ahead of a planned move to Canada chose Armenia after IELTS halted at home. In October she paid roughly $300 in exam fees plus another $300 for travel and a tour package. Of the two centres in Armenia she could choose from, the British Council one would not let her register, leaving a single option.

A computer-science graduate paid around $265 for a four-day exam tour to an Arab country, flying out on February 26. He sat the test the next day; a day later war broke out and flights were grounded. He never returned to Iran and has since emigrated to Canada.

Iran's exam-preparation market has slumped as living costs rise. The founder of a school specialising in IELTS and TOEFL courses said the number of private and semiprivate classes he offers has fallen by about 80 percent.

Are there exceptions?

After the IELTS halt was announced, only candidates already registered could sit the exam through March. A nationwide Internet blackout in January slowed connections so badly that capacity at one point fell to three test takers a day, the source said, and the US-Israeli war against Iran that began in late February, plus further outages, disrupted the remaining sessions. Immigration lawyers are now steering clients toward alternative tests.

What about other languages?

Iranian authorities have also curbed access to non-English tests. In September, the French Language Center in Tehran, run by the French Embassy's cultural section, was shut down, according to the judiciary's Mizan news agency, which reported accusations that it used its status as a language school to identify Iranian elites and help them leave the country. France's Foreign Ministry called the move "unjustifiable." The German language center in Tehran was already shut in 2024.

What this means for travellers

People in Iran who need an international language score should check current registration and residency rules before booking anything: ETS will not process their registrations or payments even for tests abroad, and the British Council only accepts candidates with legal residency outside Iran. Those planning to travel for an exam also face visa rules, flight costs and the risk of disrupted sessions, and Afghans living in Iran need visas in advance for Turkey and Armenia.

No date has been announced for restoring any of the tests inside Iran. One 23-year-old Afghan woman hoping to study abroad said she has begun talks with a smuggler to reach Pakistan to take a language test there.