PTE Academic UKVI Scores by CEFR Level, 43 to 85

Most UK visa English coverage is about IELTS. Pearson is on the same list, at every level, with a completely different scale.

43 at B1. 59 at B2. 76 at C1. 85 at C2, in all four skills.

SpeakShark is free for one of the four numbers you have to hit, three AI conversation sessions a day with no card.

In this guide: the table · all four equal · the steps · two Pearson tests · against IELTS · the conditions · what to do · limits · method · FAQ

Key takeaways

B1: 43. B2: 59. C1: 76. C2: 85.
The same number is required in all four skills at every level.
There is no overall score in the requirement.
PTE Home is a separate, pass or fail, two skill test.
Results must be under two years old at the application date.

The band table

From the Home Office approved test lists, for PTE Academic UKVI, delivered by Pearson:

CEFR level	Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking
B1	43	43	43	43
B2	59	59	59	59
C1	76	76	76	76
C2	85	85	85	85

It is a four facet test at every level, meaning all four skills are assessed and all four are required.

The same number four times

The design is worth pausing on, because it is the simplest instrument in the whole approved list.

There is no overall score to reach, no compensation between skills, and no permitted concession in any one of them. Whatever level your route requires, you need that number four times.

That puts it alongside the strictest professional requirements in this series rather than the most forgiving. The pharmacy regulator's flat floor of 7.0 in every area works the same way, covered in pharmacists and straight sevens, and it is the opposite of the veterinary and Irish nursing designs, which let one component sit lower and let the candidate choose which, covered in the RCVS worked examples.

For a candidate the consequence is direct. Your weakest skill is your score.

How far apart the levels are

Step	Points
B1 to B2	16
B2 to C1	17
C1 to C2	9

Two even steps through the middle of the scale, then a smaller one at the top.

We are not going to interpret that as a statement about difficulty. A nine point step at the top of a scale can mean the levels are closer together or that the scale compresses where scores bunch, and the approved list publishes numbers rather than reasoning.

What it does tell a candidate planning a jump is that the arithmetic distance from C1 to C2 is smaller than the distance from B1 to B2, which is not what most people assume about the top of a scale.

PTE Home is a different test

Both Pearson products appear on the approved lists and they are not interchangeable.

Test	Levels	Facets	Grading
PTE Home	A1, A2, B1	2 facet, speaking and listening	Pass
PTE Academic UKVI	B1, B2, C1, C2	4 facet	numeric, 43 to 85

They overlap at exactly one level, B1, where an applicant might be eligible for either depending on the immigration route. We work through what the two facet route is for, and why it stops at B1, in the UK routes that only test speaking and listening.

The names do not help. One sounds like a location and the other like a purpose, and neither tells you the number of skills assessed. Read the CEFR level and the facet count on the approved list rather than the product name.

Against the IELTS numbers

The two most familiar products on the list run on completely different scales.

Level	PTE Academic UKVI	IELTS for UKVI
B1	43	4.0
B2	59	5.5
C1	76	7.0
C2	85	8.5

Both require the same figure in all four components. Both are four facet at every level. The scales are the only difference, and the IELTS ladder is set out in IELTS for UKVI by CEFR level.

Two more numeric options sit on the same lists. LanguageCert Academic SELT and General SELT run 40, 60 and 75 at B1, B2 and C1, with only Academic appearing at C2 at 90 out of 100, covered in LanguageCert Academic against General SELT. And the older LanguageCert International ESOL SELT runs 33 out of 50 across the board, with one exception that we work through in one listening score on the UK visa list is lower.

The conditions attached

Three rules apply to every test on these lists, not just Pearson's.

Two years. The result must be awarded in the two years before your application date. That anchor is a date you control, unlike some professional regulators, compared in English certificates that expire.

An approved location. Where you sit matters as much as what you sit, and Trinity can only be taken in the UK while PSI Services can only be taken outside it, covered in the provider split by side of the border.

One provider. Components examined and awarded together must be achieved with the same test centre provider as part of the combined assessment. Whether a provider lets you resit a single failed component is a provider term, not a Home Office rule.

What to do with this

Find your route's CEFR level first. The number follows from it.
Plan for four equal scores. Nothing compensates.
Check whether you need PTE Home or PTE Academic UKVI. They overlap only at B1.
Check your test location is approved, not just the test.
Count back two years from your application date.

Four equal scores means your weakest skill decides the outcome, and for most candidates that is speaking, because it is the one that does not improve by reading quietly. Role play scenarios and a daily speaking partner are the practical routes, testing your speaking level free shows where you stand, and CEFR levels for speaking explains what B1 through C2 describe. What C2 actually means covers the top of the ladder, Trinity ISE I to IV covers the pass based alternative, and Cambridge speaking criteria by level shows how spoken English is marked in detail.

What we could not verify

We did not read Pearson's own scale documentation. The numbers are from the government approved test lists.

We did not establish why the C1 to C2 step is smaller. No reasoning is published.

We did not check which immigration routes require which level. That is set out separately on gov.uk by route.

We did not verify provider resit terms. The lists say the same provider rule; anything beyond that is Pearson's own policy.

Lists change. Both approved test lists carry effective dates and are revised.

This is not immigration advice. It is a reading of the published approved test lists, linked below.

How we researched this guide

We pulled both official approved test spreadsheets and read them as data rather than as prose, which is the only way to see that the four component figures are identical at every level for this test.

Reading a requirement written out in a sentence hides that. Listening 43, reading 43, writing 43, speaking 43 in a table makes it obvious that there is one number and it is repeated, which is a different instrument from an overall score with a floor.

The two Pearson products came from sorting the same spreadsheet by provider. PTE Home and PTE Academic UKVI sit several rows apart, in different facet categories, and nothing on the page pairs them. A candidate searching for Pearson finds both and has to work out which one their route needs.

We also checked both lists rather than one, because the in-UK and outside-UK files are separate documents and a provider can appear on one and not the other. The PTE rows are identical in both, which is worth knowing since two of the five providers are not.

Practise speaking, from SpeakShark

SpeakShark is an AI English speaking practice app, and a requirement with four equal numbers has one obvious consequence.

There is no trade to make. Whatever your weakest skill is, that is the one deciding your application, and for most people it is the one they have the least opportunity to practise.

You talk, the AI answers what you actually said, and you get speaking feedback while the conversation is still running. The free tier gives basic feedback; the detailed pronunciation and grammar breakdown is on Premium.

Being straight about the limits: a free session runs five minutes with four turns, we issue no certificates, and we are not affiliated with Pearson or with any approved SELT provider.

Start free with three sessions a day and no card. Paid sessions run ten minutes with unlimited turns. Limits are on the pricing page, and how it works walks through a session. Sign up here if speaking is the number holding your set back.

We are a speaking improvement tool. We are not an exam preparation provider, and we are not affiliated with Cambridge English, the IELTS partners, Pearson or any exam board. For test format, booking and official practice material, go to the exam body directly. Use SpeakShark to make your spoken English stronger, and use official material to learn the test.

Site: speakshark.com
Support: speaksharksupport@gmail.com
Free tier: 3 AI conversation sessions per day, no card

Sources

GOV.UK, prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test: the two approved test lists for tests taken in and outside the UK, the two year window measured to the application date, the approved location condition, and the requirement that components examined and awarded together be achieved with the same test centre provider
GOV.UK, list of approved Secure English Language Tests taken in the UK: the PTE Academic UKVI rows at B1, B2, C1 and C2 and the PTE Home rows at A1, A2 and B1
GOV.UK, list of approved Secure English Language Tests taken outside the UK: the identical PTE rows in the outside-UK list, alongside the providers that appear on only one of the two lists
Council of Europe, CEFR Table 1, common reference levels global scale: the level definitions the thresholds are mapped to

FAQ

What PTE Academic score do I need for a UK visa?

It depends on the CEFR level your immigration route requires. The Home Office approved test lists give PTE Academic UKVI as 43 at B1, 59 at B2, 76 at C1 and 85 at C2, and the same figure is required in listening, reading, writing and speaking at every level.

Is the requirement an overall score or per skill?

Per skill. The approved lists give four separate figures for listening, reading, writing and speaking, and at every level all four are identical. There is no overall score in the requirement, so a strong reading result cannot compensate for a weak speaking one.

How far apart are the levels?

Sixteen points from B1 to B2, seventeen from B2 to C1 and nine from C1 to C2. The steps are broadly even through the middle of the scale and then compress at the top, where 76 to 85 covers the distance from C1 to C2 in nine points.

Is PTE Home the same test?

No. PTE Home is a separate approved test appearing at A1, A2 and B1 as a two facet speaking and listening test graded pass or fail. PTE Academic UKVI is a four facet test appearing from B1 to C2 with numeric scores. Both are Pearson products on the same government list.

How long is a PTE Academic UKVI result valid?

The Home Office requires the result to have been awarded in the two years before the date of your application, at an approved location and from the approved test list. That window is measured to your application date, which is a date you control.

Can I combine components from different sittings?

Not across providers. The approved lists state that components examined and awarded together must be achieved with the same test centre provider as part of the combined assessment. Whether a provider allows a single failed component to be resat is a provider term rather than a Home Office rule.