An applicant with an IELTS General score of 7.5 overall got conflicting advice on whether IELTS Academic was required for SDS visa processing, versus IELTS General or even Duolingo which their college accepted for admission.
What the thread clarified:- For the SDS study permit application itself, either IELTS General or Academic is accepted by IRCC — this matches IRCC's own published SDS eligibility requirements.
- A member confirmed getting their study permit approved using IELTS General, with the college separately accepting Duolingo for the admission requirement — these are two separate requirements (college admission vs. visa eligibility) that don't have to use the same test.
- Don't confuse college admission requirements with SDS visa eligibility requirements — a college might accept Duolingo for admission while IRCC's SDS stream still has its own English test requirements (which include both IELTS variants).
The practical takeaway: check your college's admission requirement and IRCC's SDS eligibility requirement separately — for the visa itself, IELTS General is accepted just as Academic is, so there's no need to retake a test purely to satisfy an assumed visa requirement.