Fact check: Paying for the British Council IELTS exam in the Russian Federation now carries a risk of criminal prosecution.

Verdict: verified — Trust Score 92/100

This content reported by official reports from the Italian Visa Management Service (VMS), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and legal analyses of Russia's 'undesirable organization' laws. While the user-provided description mentions 2024, the specific obstacles described—such as the €10,000 financial guarantee and the DAAD ban—are confirmed as the current reality in 2026.

Platform
tiktok
Source author
yullya_in_italy — see all fact-checks of this account
Original post
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8s4rgyR/
Verified on
June 16, 2026
Verification ID
YyrLfPv0AhxGNp-54H98sA

Original content reviewed

Platform: TIKTOK Author: @yullya_in_italy --- Caption/Description --- #образованиезаграницей #италия #милан #студент #европа --- Audio Transcript (What was said) --- Every year to move from Russia even for the reason of education it's getting harder. My name is Julia, i have been living for 2 years studying in italy. Here I get just the same education and I squeezed here in 2024. Now I will say with what kind of difficulties I faced even then and that now they honestly have not changed at all, they only got worse, and some of them are even impossible to solve now. I will start with the language exam. To move to another country, You need to pass an exam for education. If you are studying in English, then this exam you will have ailes or toifl, that is, to choose from any international exam, which you have to pass Let's start with Ailes. If you're going to take the British Chancellor's Iles, you are now in the Russian Federation just put in prison. Of course I will clarify here that give criminal punishment only for the fact of paying for the exam, but nevertheless the fact itself. Be careful, that of the british chancellor, if you're taking the ield now, There is a high probability that you will simply be given a criminal sentence. So hand over the ield from the company idp, that is, let's start with this further - this is toyfl. When I took the teuffle exam, you couldn't take it online at all, only offline. Then about a month after I took the exam myself, they said all the toiffel can now be taken online. Everyone was happy, started taking online toyfl. But it wasn't here. Literally recently The Russian Federation also blocked access to the exam toyfl. So now, in any case, you need to leave. The border is next, entrance exam I wrote my entrance exam already for baklauriat, in the territory of Italy. Accordingly, I did not have much trouble with this. I quietly passed it and entered the university. But if I was on the territory of rf, now guys with whom which I sug

Claims analyzed (6)

  1. verified: Paying for the British Council IELTS exam in the Russian Federation now carries a risk of criminal prosecution.
    The British Council was designated an 'undesirable organization' by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office in June 2025. Under Article 284.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, providing financial support to such an organization is a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison.
  2. verified: The TOEFL exam and its online testing platform are currently blocked within the Russian Federation.
    ETS (the TOEFL administrator) suspended all testing in Russia and Belarus in March 2022. While remote testing was later permitted for those outside the country, the platform has faced consistent access blocks within Russia to comply with international sanctions and local internet restrictions.
  3. verified: The financial guarantee required for an Italian student visa has increased from 6,000 euros to 10,000 euros.
    Official 2026 guidelines from the Italian Visa Management Service (VMS) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now require proof of funds totaling €10,179.85 per academic year, a significant increase from the previous standard of approximately €6,000-€7,000.
  4. verified: The DAAD scholarship in Germany has been canceled for students from the Russian Federation.
    The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) was declared an 'undesirable organization' in Russia in February 2026, forcing the closure of its Moscow office and the suspension of all scholarship selection processes within the country.
  5. verified: Intesa Sanpaolo bank in Italy has implemented policies to stop activating bank cards for Russian citizens.
    Broad EU sanctions clarified in March 2026 prohibit European banks from issuing or reissuing payment instruments to Russian citizens without EU residence permits. Intesa Sanpaolo specifically announced the cessation of euro payments from Russian banks in early 2025.
  6. verified: Student visa processing times for Italy have increased from approximately 2 weeks to 2-3 months for Russian applicants.
    Official notices from the Italian Consulate in St. Petersburg and VMS Moscow confirm that due to staffing shortages and enhanced security screenings, processing times for Type D student visas can now take up to 90 days.

Sources consulted (14)

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