Pearson English Test Approved by the IRCC for Canadian Immigration
Applicants will soon be able to submit test results from one of three approved English-language tests, IELTS, CELPIP and now PTE for their Canadian immigration applications.
The Pearson English Test (PTE)
The IRCC has announced the addition of the Pearson English Test (PTE) as an accepted test for Canadian immigration. According to the IRCC the PTE will begin being accepted in late 2023 and has yet to set an exact date. The PTE is a new English test that was developed by Pearson to meet IRCC’s language proficiency requirements for Canadian immigration applicants.
The PTE will join the IELTS and CELPIP as one of the three accepted tests to demonstrate English language ability. In addition, there are two currently accepted French-language ability tests approved for immigration purposes, the TEF Canada and the TCF Canada.
IRCC does not have a preferred test. Since results from all approved tests are valued equally, you can choose to take whichever test is more convenient for you. No matter which language test you take however, the results must be from within the last two years (24 months) to be valid. IELTS, CELPIP and PTE all assess the core four language abilities: listening, reading, writing and speaking.
What Score Do I Need?
Most Canadian economic immigration programs have minimum language requirements, but they are not all the same. The score you need to get will depend on the program you’re applying to.
In addition to minimum requirements, many programs also operate on points systems. Points may be awarded for things like age, work experience, and education, in addition to language proficiency. Depending on your profile, the language test score you need to qualify could be different from the minimum requirement.
Our advice is to give it your best effort. If you don’t like your results, you can also take the test again to try to improve them. The important thing to remember is that these are tests. Even if you are confident in your English or French language ability, you should prepare by studying and doing practice tests.
Canadian Language Benchmark
No matter which test you take, your results will be converted into Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB), or Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC), levels. CLB levels run from 4 (poor) to 10 (excellent). When Canadian immigration programs indicate a language requirement, they usually refer to a CLB level.
Example: Say a program has a minimum language requirement of CLB 4. That means that your lowest score among the four language abilities must be at least CLB 4. If you score below that level on any of the abilities, you will not meet the minimum language requirement.
Learn how to convert your test results to CLB.
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