Across Europe more than 500 universities now accept the Duolingo English Test, but acceptance is country by country and programme by programme, not continental. Ireland is the clear leader — fifteen of its eighteen universities accept DET, and it is recognised for the student visa route. The Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Spain and France are more selective: strong in English-taught bachelor’s and master’s programmes and at business schools, patchy elsewhere. This page tells you where you stand in each of those six countries, and what score to aim for.
For an Arabic speaker already living in Europe, the appeal is obvious: one adaptive hour, scored 10–160 across four subscores, valid for two years, with the Writing and Speaking samples sent to the institutions you choose.
Teachero’s live course runs on Zoom at a steady pace — more days, fewer hours a day — taught in English by our certified instructors and open to Arabic speakers and international students alike, with Arabic-language support available for Arabic speakers who want it, and every lecture uploaded the same day as a lesson recording you can review. Schedules are set per round; message us on WhatsApp for the next round’s details.
- Course formatLive on Zoom at a steady pace, with lesson recordings you can review
- PaymentVisa / Mastercard from Europe, or InstaPay inside Egypt
- Score scale10–160 in steps of 5, with 4 subscores; valid 2 years
- European acceptance500+ universities; Ireland strongest (15 of 18 universities)
- Typical scores95–120 for most programmes; 120–135 at top business schools
- Ireland noteDET is recognised for the Irish student visa route — confirm with your college and immigration
Country by country: where DET is accepted in Europe
Ireland — the strongest in Europe
Fifteen of Ireland’s eighteen universities accept DET, and unlike the UK it is recognised on the Irish student visa route. Published requirements include Trinity College Dublin at 120 overall with 100+ in each subscore, University College Dublin at 120 overall with 110+ subscores, and University of Galway at roughly 110–120 depending on programme; University College Cork sets requirements per programme. If Ireland is an option for you, it is the easiest English-speaking destination in Europe for a DET candidate.
Netherlands
Dutch acceptance is real but programme-specific. Published examples include the University of Amsterdam at 110–120 and the University of Groningen at 95–105. Many Dutch universities still default to IELTS and TOEFL in their formal admission regulations, and research master’s programmes are stricter than bachelor’s. Check the programme page, and if DET is not named, email the admissions office.
Sweden
Sweden runs centralised admission through Universityadmissions.se, which sets the national English 6 / English B requirement and lists the tests that satisfy it. Individual universities do publish DET requirements — Lund University at around 95–105 has been reported — but the centralised route is where you must verify, not a blog. Ask whether your DET score satisfies the English 6 requirement for your specific programme before you rely on it.
Italy
Acceptance in Italy is concentrated in English-taught degrees and private and international universities. John Cabot University in Rome reviews DET results individually rather than publishing a fixed cut-off; Bocconi, Politecnico and the larger public universities generally publish IELTS and TOEFL requirements, with DET appearing on some programme pages and not others. Italy is also where the pre-enrolment Universitaly procedure matters — your language evidence must match what the university listed there.
Spain
Spain leans towards its private and international institutions. IE University publishes a DET requirement of 130 for applicants who need to prove English; ESADE Business School sets a very high bar; Universidad CEU San Pablo has published 120. Public Spanish universities more often ask for a B2 certificate recognised in Spain (Cambridge, Trinity, EOI) than for DET — verify with the Oficina de Relaciones Internacionales.
France
French business schools are the most DET-friendly: HEC Paris asks 135 for its MBA, Burgundy School of Business around 115, ICN Business School around 105, Audencia around 100, Toulouse Business School around 90, while NEOMA asks applicants to contact the school. Public French universities and Campus France procedures usually specify IELTS, TOEFL or a French-language requirement instead — confirm before applying.
In every one of these countries the rule is the same: search Duolingo’s official accepting-institutions directory for your university, then confirm the overall and subscore minimum with the admissions office in writing.
Visas and residence permits in the EU
Unlike the UK and Australia, most EU countries do not publish a government list of approved English tests for student visas. Your national student visa or residence permit rests on the admission letter, proof of funds, insurance and accommodation — so if the university accepted your DET score and admitted you, the English question is generally settled by that admission.
Two exceptions to keep in view. Ireland is not in Schengen and runs its own immigration rules, and DET is recognised there for study-visa purposes — but the Irish immigration service and your college set the required level, so confirm with both. France and Italy route applications through Campus France and Universitaly respectively, and both check that the language evidence you submit matches what the institution specified — a mismatch causes delays even when the university itself was happy. Whatever the country, keep the admissions office’s written confirmation that DET is acceptable; it is the document that resolves questions later.
Choosing your target score for Europe’s universities
Europe is the region where the subscore line matters most, because the institutions that accept the DET most readily are also the ones that attach minimums to every subscore.
| Where you are applying | Aim for | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch and Swedish bachelor’s programmes | 105–120 | Whether the programme names the DET at all |
| Irish universities (Trinity, UCD, Galway) | 125–130 | Subscore floors of 100–110 on every skill |
| English-taught master’s in Italy and Spain | 120–130 | Programme-by-programme acceptance |
| Top business schools (IE, HEC Paris, ESADE) | 135–140 | Production and Conversation both strong |
| Mid-tier French business schools | 100–120 | The school’s own published figure |
Trinity’s requirement is the clearest illustration: 120 overall and at least 100 in each subscore. A candidate at 125 overall with Production at 90 fails it, while an even 120 passes. So plan for the weakest skill, not the average — and add about five points to the overall figure, because scoring moves in steps of 5.
Send us the programme link on WhatsApp and we will read the admission page with you, subscore line included, before you commit to a date.
Schedule and recordings
Classes are live on Zoom, and every lecture is uploaded the same day as a lesson recording you can review, so you can follow from wherever you are in the world. We send the exact schedule of the next round on WhatsApp. If a round clashes with your lectures or work, the intensive course gives the same content in fewer days with more hours a day, and the private 1-on-1 course runs on your own timetable.
Booking and payment
The standard course is a full live course on Zoom, with corrected homework, personal Speaking and Writing correction, full mock tests, and WhatsApp support throughout; the private 1-on-1 course runs on your own schedule. Class times are set per round — message us on WhatsApp for the next round’s details.
Paying works with any Visa or Mastercard after you message us on WhatsApp, including European debit cards carrying those logos (Maestro-only cards sometimes fail; use a Visa/Mastercard debit or credit card instead). SEPA transfer is not available for this payment; if your card is refused, message us on WhatsApp and we will send alternative international transfer options. The Duolingo exam itself is booked separately with Duolingo.
Why Arabic-language support is the edge for Arab students in Europe
Arab students in continental Europe are almost always juggling three languages: Arabic at home, the local language for daily life and paperwork, English for the degree. A class delivered entirely in a third language adds a layer of processing at exactly the moment you can least afford it. Explaining the strategy in Arabic removes that layer completely.
And it attacks the right errors. Across every country on this page, Arabic speakers lose marks in the same places: Speaking answers that run dry at forty seconds because the idea was formed in Arabic and translated live; Writing that stacks coordinated clauses instead of developing one argument; articles and prepositions dropped under time pressure; Read Aloud rushed because the eye is trained to read for gist; Summarize the Conversation answers that report the topic rather than the content. Add the interference that appears after a year in Europe — Dutch or German word order, Italian or Spanish false friends — and you have a profile that a generic class is not looking for.
Our certified instructors teach every session in English, switching into Arabic exactly where strategy, timing, scoring logic or your own error patterns call for it; exam terms (Read Aloud, Interactive Writing, Speak About the Photo, Summarize the Conversation) stay in English. Full content details are shared with enrolled students. Most students reach their target with focused, structured preparation.
For parents paying from Egypt or the Gulf for a student in Europe
European tuition is often modest compared with the UK or the US, which makes the English requirement the main obstacle — and the one worth solving properly the first time.
- Check acceptance before anything else. This is the European-specific warning: acceptance varies by country and by programme. Send us the programme link on WhatsApp and our instructors will read the admission page with you first.
- Ireland is the safest bet. If the family is still choosing between countries, Ireland accepts DET most widely and recognises it on the student visa route — worth knowing before applications close.
- Pay from your own country. InstaPay or a local card from Egypt; Visa or Mastercard from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain or Jordan after you message us on WhatsApp; ask on WhatsApp for international transfer options. We confirm enrolment back to you.
- You always know where things stand. We send the exact schedule of each round on WhatsApp, and every lecture is uploaded the same day as a lesson recording.
- Watch the subscore floors. Irish and Dutch programmes routinely set a minimum on every subscore; that is the number to plan against, not the overall one.
Read next: the complete DET guide, universities accepting DET, how scoring works and the 2-week study plan.
Frequently asked questions
Which European country accepts the Duolingo English Test most widely?
Ireland — fifteen of its eighteen universities accept DET, and it is recognised on the Irish student visa route. Trinity College Dublin and UCD both publish a 120 overall requirement with subscore minimums.
Do Dutch universities accept DET?
Some do, programme by programme — the University of Amsterdam has published 110–120 and the University of Groningen 95–105. Many Dutch admission regulations still default to IELTS and TOEFL, so check the programme page.
Is DET accepted in Sweden?
Individual Swedish universities publish DET requirements (Lund around 95–105 has been reported), but Swedish admission is centralised through Universityadmissions.se and the English 6 requirement. Verify that your DET score satisfies English 6 for your specific programme.
What about Italy, Spain and France?
Acceptance is concentrated in English-taught degrees, private universities and business schools — John Cabot in Rome reviews DET individually, IE University in Spain asks 130, and HEC Paris asks 135 for its MBA while other French business schools publish 90–115.
Do I need DET for my European student visa?
Most EU countries have no government list of approved English tests; the permit rests on your admission letter, funds, insurance and housing. Ireland is the exception where DET is explicitly recognised — confirm with your college and the immigration service.
When do the classes run?
The standard course runs live on Zoom at a steady pace: more days, fewer hours a day. Class times are set per round and we send the exact schedule on WhatsApp; every lecture is also uploaded the same day as a lesson recording you can review.
Why do Irish universities publish subscore minimums?
Because they want a balanced profile: Trinity asks for 120 overall with at least 100 in each subscore, and UCD for 120 with 110+. A high average with one weak skill fails those requirements.
How long is my DET score valid in Europe?
Two years, which usually spans two application cycles — but Campus France and Universitaly both check that the evidence matches what the institution specified, so confirm the acceptable window with the university.
Join the next round — a new one starts almost every week. Send us your programme link on WhatsApp and we will check DET acceptance with you first.
Last updated: September 2026