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Quick summary: The Duolingo English Test (DET) is accepted for admission by hundreds of universities, but admission and immigration are different gatekeepers. The UK and Australia do not accept DET for the student visa itself. Canada and the US have no government-mandated English test at all, so DET works there as far as your school allows.
By Olami
Last updated September 1, 2026
What the Duolingo English Test Actually Is
The Duolingo English Test is an online, AI-scored English proficiency test you can take from a laptop with a webcam, instead of travelling to a physical test centre. That single difference — online versus in-person — is the whole story of where it gets accepted and where it does not. Every government decision below comes down to whether the authority requires a secure, in-person test centre or not.
This article is not a prep guide — if you need study strategy and sample questions, AbroadPilot’s Duolingo English Test prep guide covers that. This one answers a narrower, more expensive question: once you have a score, where does it actually count?
What Changed Recently, and When
Two governments moved on this in the last two years, in opposite directions from each other.
Australia tightened its list on 7 August 2025. The Department of Home Affairs updated the English language tests it accepts for a Student visa (subclass 500) to a set of nine, and explicitly excluded any test delivered fully online or “remote-proctored.” The Duolingo English Test was never on Australia’s list, and the August 2025 update reaffirmed the in-person requirement rather than opening the door.
Canada loosened its requirement in November 2024. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ended the Student Direct Stream and the Nigeria Student Express — the fast-track programs that had required a designated English test for expedited processing. Outside of those discontinued streams, IRCC has never required a standardized English test as part of a regular study permit application; the requirement, where one exists, comes from your designated learning institution (DLI), not from IRCC.
The UK’s position has not changed: the Duolingo English Test has never appeared on either UK Home Office Secure English Language Test (SELT) list — the one for tests taken inside the UK or the one for tests taken outside it.
Key Facts: Where the Duolingo English Test Is Accepted, Country by Country
| Destination | Immigration authority | Accepted for the visa/permit itself? | What the authority requires instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) | No | A Secure English Language Test — typically IELTS for UKVI or PTE Academic UKVI |
| Australia | Department of Home Affairs | No (as of 7 August 2025) | One of nine approved tests sat at a secure test centre — IELTS Academic, IELTS General Training, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, OET, Cambridge C1 Advanced, CELPIP General, LANGUAGECERT Academic, or the Michigan English Test |
| Canada | Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) | Not applicable — IRCC does not mandate a language test for a study permit | Whatever your designated learning institution requires for admission |
| United States | U.S. Department of State / SEVP (F-1 visa) | Not applicable — there is no government-mandated language test for the F-1 process | Whatever your specific university requires for admission |
In every case, the pattern is the same: university admission and visa authorization are separate decisions made by separate bodies. A university’s admissions office accepting Duolingo tells you nothing about what the visa officer in the same country will accept, and in the UK and Australia those two answers are currently different.
Meeting the correct test requirement does not by itself guarantee a visa or study permit will be approved — each immigration authority makes the final decision on every individual application, and other eligibility factors apply on top of the language requirement.
Which Question Are You Actually Answering?
Before you book any English test, answer these two questions separately — not as one combined check:
- Will my target university accept this test for admission? Check the specific program’s admissions page. Duolingo’s own list of accepting institutions is a reasonable starting point, but the program page is the authority — some departments within a university opt out even when the institution broadly accepts DET.
- Does my destination country’s immigration authority accept this test for the visa itself? This is the question this article answers. For the UK and Australia, the answer is no regardless of what your university says. For Canada and the US, there usually isn’t a separate immigration-side test to satisfy at all.
If you are applying to the UK or Australia and only checked question one, you have not actually checked whether Duolingo will get you a visa.
The Mistake That Costs Time and Money
The costly version of this mistake looks the same almost every time: an applicant takes the Duolingo English Test first because it is faster to book and does not require travelling to a test centre, gets an offer letter from a UK or Australian university that accepted the DET score, and only discovers when preparing the visa application that a second, secure, in-person test is required before they can proceed.
At that point the applicant is booking IELTS for UKVI or an equivalent secure test under time pressure, often close to an intake deadline, and paying for a test they would not have needed if they had checked the immigration authority’s list before the university’s.
The reverse mistake also happens: an applicant assumes that because the UK requires a specific SELT, every English-speaking destination must work the same way — and needlessly books a secure in-person test for a Canadian or US application where no immigration-side test was ever required.
Choosing the Right Test for Where You Are Going
Take the Duolingo English Test if your target universities accept it for admission and your destination is Canada or the US, where there is no separate government English-test requirement to clear. Sit a UKVI-approved SELT instead of, or in addition to, Duolingo if the UK is your destination — the visa application will not proceed without one. Sit one of the nine tests on Australia’s approved list, at a secure test centre, if Australia is your destination, even if an Australian university has already accepted your Duolingo score for admission.
Key Takeaways
- A university accepting the Duolingo English Test for admission says nothing about whether your destination country’s visa process accepts it.
- The UK has never put Duolingo on its approved SELT list; UKVI requires a separate secure test such as IELTS for UKVI or PTE Academic UKVI.
- Since 7 August 2025, Australia requires one of nine tests taken at a secure test centre; Duolingo’s online delivery excludes it.
- Canada’s IRCC does not mandate any English test for a study permit, so Duolingo works there as far as your designated learning institution allows.
- The US has no government-mandated English test for an F-1 visa — it is entirely a university admissions decision.
- Check your destination’s immigration authority list before you book a test, not just your university’s admissions page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Duolingo English Test accepted for a UK student visa?
No. The Duolingo English Test does not appear on either UK Home Office Secure English Language Test (SELT) list. Even when a UK university accepts a Duolingo score for admission, the student visa application itself requires an approved SELT such as IELTS for UKVI or PTE Academic UKVI.
Does Australia accept the Duolingo English Test for a student visa?
No. Since the Department of Home Affairs updated its approved test list on 7 August 2025, an accepted test must be taken at a secure, in-person test centre. The Duolingo English Test is delivered fully online, which excludes it from the current list of nine approved tests.
Do I need an English test at all for a Canadian study permit?
IRCC does not require a standardized English test as part of a regular study permit application. Any English-proficiency requirement comes from your designated learning institution as part of its own admission decision, not from IRCC.
My university accepted my Duolingo score — do I still need to take a different test for my visa?
It depends entirely on your destination. For the UK or Australia, yes — the visa authority requires its own approved test regardless of what your university accepted. For Canada or the US, there is generally no separate immigration-side language test to clear.
What to Expect Next
More universities are expected to keep adding the Duolingo English Test to their own admissions lists — it is cheaper and faster for the applicant, which makes it attractive to admissions offices trying to widen their applicant pool. That trend does not move immigration authorities in the same direction: Australia’s August 2025 update shows a government can tighten its own list in the same period universities are loosening theirs. Treat the two lists as independent and check both, every intake, rather than assuming one predicts the other.
The Bottom Line
A university accepting the Duolingo English Test tells you only that the university accepted it — nothing about whether your visa application will. Check your destination country’s own approved test list before you book, not after your offer letter arrives.
Related Guides
- Duolingo English Test: Full Prep Guide and Sample Question Types
- UK Student Visa English Requirements: SELT Explained
- IELTS vs TOEFL vs PTE vs Duolingo English Test: Which to Take
- Canada Study Permit: IELTS, CELPIP, TEF and PTE Requirements Explained
- No-IELTS Routes: What Actually Waives Your English Test
Official & Verified Sources
- GOV.UK — Student visa: Knowledge of English
- Australian Department of Home Affairs — English language visa requirements
- IRCC — Study permit: Who can apply
- Study in the States (DHS) — Do I need to pass an English language test to study in the United States?
Last updated: September 1, 2026. Immigration and visa test requirements change without much notice — always confirm the current list on the official pages linked above before you book a test or submit an application.
Your Next Step
Check your destination country’s official test list above before you book anything, then compare your options in AbroadPilot’s test comparison guide. If this saved you from booking the wrong test, tell us which country you’re applying to in the comments — it helps other readers in the same situation.
Olami is the founder and lead writer at AbroadPilot. He started the site after going through the visa process himself — a German student visa in 2019 and a Canadian work permit in 2023 — and learning first-hand how confusing official immigration language can be, how often rules change, and how easy it is to lose money to bad advice. He spent three years as an international education and travel consultant, helping people source and verify the information that landed their visas and planned their trips. Every guide on AbroadPilot is built from official sources — embassy pages, government immigration portals, and .gov fee schedules — and reviewed as requirements change. AbroadPilot does not sell visas or applications; it is a free resource to help readers apply with confidence.
