Urgent Request to Restore Access to PTE Core for Iranian Test-Takers

We, the undersigned international students, immigration applicants, professionals, and concerned individuals, urgently call on Pearson PLC, Pearson VUE, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to address and reconsider the suspension or cancellation of PTE Core examinations for Iranian test-takers.

Recently, Iranian candidates have reported cancellations of scheduled PTE Core appointments and the invalidation or cancellation of exam vouchers, reportedly due to compliance concerns related to U.S. sanctions and OFAC regulations. These actions have caused serious academic, professional, immigration, and financial consequences for individuals who have no involvement in sanctioned activities or political matters.

For many candidates, PTE Core is not simply an English-language examination. It is an essential requirement for immigration and professional pathways, including applications to Canada. Candidates may spend months preparing for the examination, pay significant testing and preparation costs, and organize their immigration applications around strict deadlines. Sudden cancellations can therefore result in lost opportunities, missed deadlines, additional expenses, and significant disruption to applicants’ lives.

Why This Decision Should Be Reconsidered

1. Access to Education and Professional Opportunity

Language proficiency examinations are an important gateway to education, immigration, employment, and international mobility. Ordinary individuals seeking to demonstrate their English-language ability should not be unnecessarily prevented from accessing internationally recognized testing services solely because of their nationality.

2. Need for Clear Guidance on Educational and Testing Services

U.S. sanctions regulations contain various authorizations and exemptions relating to certain educational activities and services. Given the humanitarian and educational nature of standardized language testing, we respectfully ask Pearson and OFAC to clarify whether PTE Core examinations for individual Iranian candidates can lawfully continue under existing authorizations or through an appropriate license.

Rather than applying an unnecessarily broad restriction to all Iranian candidates, Pearson should seek formal regulatory guidance where uncertainty exists.

3. Serious Consequences for Immigration Applicants

Many PTE Core candidates are preparing applications under strict immigration timelines. Some have invested months of preparation and substantial personal savings in their examinations and related applications.

Canceling an examination shortly before the scheduled test date can cause candidates to miss application deadlines, lose fees, delay immigration plans, or be forced to begin parts of the process again. These consequences fall primarily on ordinary individuals rather than on sanctioned institutions or entities.

We Respectfully Request That:

Pearson PLC and Pearson VUE seek formal clarification from OFAC and, if necessary, apply for an appropriate specific license or other authorization that would allow PTE Core testing services to remain available to eligible Iranian individuals.

OFAC provide clear and public guidance regarding the availability of standardized international language examinations, including PTE Core, to Iranian students, professionals, and immigration applicants.

Pearson VUE provide transparent and timely official communication to all affected candidates, clearly explaining the regulatory basis for any cancellations or restrictions.

Affected candidates be allowed to complete their examinations whenever legally possible, including through alternative authorized testing arrangements or locations.

Where an examination genuinely cannot be provided, affected candidates receive prompt, full, and penalty-free refunds, including refunds for unused or invalidated PTE Core vouchers.

Candidates whose examinations were canceled at short notice receive reasonable assistance or priority options for rescheduling if testing becomes available again.

Restricting access to a routine English-language proficiency examination for ordinary individuals does not meaningfully advance international security or foreign-policy objectives. Instead, it disproportionately affects students, professionals, families, and immigration applicants seeking legitimate opportunities for education, employment, and a better future.

We therefore urge Pearson PLC, Pearson VUE, and OFAC to review this matter urgently, provide clear guidance, and work toward a lawful solution that restores access to PTE Core for eligible Iranian test-takers.

Education, professional advancement, and language assessment should remain bridges between people—not barriers created by regulatory uncertainty.