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- IMB Immigration Law | Ravneet Kaur Brar
- 29 September 2020
IELTS- Canada Immigration
IELTS – An Important English Requirement
Canada is a highly sought after immigration destination. It is popular for accepting a high number of immigrants as permanent residents every year.
Express Entry is the most popular pathway for Canada PR. IRCC assesses your candidature based on your ability to contribute to the Canadian economy. For that purpose and in general, as well, it’s important that you are able to communicate effectively once you move to the country. Canada places a high emphasis on language (English and French).
Proficiency In English Language
Canada is largely an English-speaking nation with a concentration of French-speaking population in the Quebec province of the country. Unless you want to live and work in the Quebec province, you will need to have proficiency in the English language.
IELTS Test
You must prove your language proficiency in English by taking an approved language test. For the purpose of establishing the language proficiency of candidates in English, IRCC has approved the following two tests:
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
- Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP)
As per your choice, you can take a language proficiency test in any of these. However, CELPIP test isn’t as widely available as the IELTS test. You can take IELTS test at multiple locations in various cities.
While CELPIP is specific to Canada immigration, IELTS test is accepted by a number of other English-speaking countries for immigration purposes.
Difference Between CELPIP And IELTS
Take a look at some of the differences between CELPIP and IELTS test:
| CELPIP | IELTS |
| It is completed in one sitting of 3 hours. | It takes more than one sitting as the listening test is conducted separately. |
| Fully computer-based. | Available as both paper and computer-based. Listening test is always conducted face-to-face. |
| Result becomes available in 15 calendar days. | Result for the paper-based test becomes available in 15 calendar days and within 7 calendar days for the computer-based test. |
| CELPIP is specifically designed for Canada immigration. | IELTS has a global acceptance with many countries accepting it for immigration purpose. |
| Each section i.e. reading, writing, speaking and listening has maximum of 12 points. | Each section has maximum of 9 points. |
Conversion Of Score Into Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB)
Irrespective of what your score is, your score will be converted into Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB). It is applicable to both CELPIP and IELTS test.
There are minimum CLB requirements for each program in the Express Entry system. For example – the minimum IELTS score requirement for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) is 6 across bands i.e. reading, writing, speaking and listening. That is equivalent to CLB 7. The highest CLB level is 10 with which you will be able to score full points for language proficiency factor. Click here to see the CELPIP/ IELTS to CLB conversion table.
You can visit this page to get information about the CLB requirements for the three Express Entry programs. Please reach out to us at www.imbimmigrationlaw.com to seek more information about English requirements for Canada Immigration.
