Two tests stop more applications than any other barrier, and a great deal of what is written about avoiding them is wishful. The accurate position is narrower but more useful: there are defined alternative routes, they have conditions, and knowing them beats hoping.
Take the NCC Education Level 7 Diploma in Business Management as a worked example. Its published entry criteria require an IELTS score of 6.5 or above for students who do not hold a degree-level qualification wholly taught and examined in English.
Read that carefully, because the condition is doing the work. If your previous degree was taught and examined in English throughout, the requirement is addressed by that degree rather than by a test.
IELTS is not the only accepted proof. The Oxford Test of English is recognised for acceptance onto NCC Education programmes, and is positioned as a more affordable and more flexible option.
So the practical question is not "can I avoid IELTS" but "which accepted evidence of English do I already have, or can I get most easily".
The clearest alternative to an academic entry route is a work experience route. For the L7DBM, five years of management experience in a relevant industry or area is a stated entry criterion in its own right.
There is also a combined route, for applicants who hold a qualification that a partner centre believes may allow entry alongside relevant experience.
The GMAT is an admissions test associated with MBA entry at some institutions. It is not a universal requirement, and many UK-awarded postgraduate routes do not use it at all.
Where an MBA is reached through a Level 7 Diploma top-up, entry is governed by the diploma criteria rather than by a GMAT score. That is a large part of why the diploma route appeals to working managers.
Entry criteria are set by the awarding body and change. The figures above are drawn from published criteria for a specific qualification, and they do not transfer automatically to every programme.
Before you rely on any route, confirm the criteria for the exact programme you intend to study, and get it in writing.
This page is general guidance. It does not replace checking with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and it is not a guarantee of the outcome of any recognition application. Conditions change, so confirm with the official source before deciding.