Entry routes and English requirements for Thanawiya Amma graduates

Thanawiya Amma graduates can enter Australian higher education in three main ways, and each comes with English requirements. There is more than one English threshold to meet, and scholarship students have an extra rule. This guide explains how the routes and thresholds fit together.

Three entry routes

• Direct entry to a bachelor's degree. Each university sets its own Thanawiya Amma requirement and publishes how it reads Kuwaiti results. RMIT, for example, publishes a Kuwait country-equivalency page.
• Foundation program. A preparation year for school leavers who do not yet meet direct entry. Foundation entry often asks for around IELTS 5.5, but check each provider.
• Pathway diploma. University-level study that can lead into a related degree, sometimes with credit. English entry scores vary by provider.

Three English thresholds

You must meet every threshold that applies to you, so in practice the highest one counts.

1. The student visa minimum

Home Affairs sets the minimum overall score for the Student visa (subclass 500). For IELTS it is:

• 6.0 overall for a course on its own
• 5.5 if your main course is packaged with at least 10 weeks of English (ELICOS), a Foundation program or an eligible pathway program
• 5.0 if it is packaged with at least 20 weeks of ELICOS

These are overall scores. Home Affairs lists other accepted tests and their equivalent scores.

2. The university or course requirement

Each university sets its own English score for each course. Many degrees ask for more than the visa minimum, for example 6.5 or higher, and some professional degrees ask for more. Check the exact course page.

3. The MoHE scholarship condition

Students funded by Kuwait's Ministry of Higher Education must hold IELTS Academic of at least 5.5 overall and in every band, plus the score the university requires for the major, before they travel. MoHE's plan also accepts TOEFL taken at an approved centre in Kuwait (minimum 47). Since 2025/2026 the funded preparatory English stage has been removed, so scholarship students cannot plan to reach their score with an English course in Australia first.

Note that the visa table uses overall scores, while MoHE's condition applies to every band. They are different tests of "5.5".

Self-funded or scholarship: what changes

• Scholarship students must meet MoHE's condition and the university's score before travelling.
• Self-funded students can use a packaged route, where an ELICOS course before the main course lets a lower visa score apply. The university still sets the score needed to start the main course.