Language and the IELTS or TEF exam

All applicants – including those born and raised in English speaking countries – must submit the results of an IELTS exam with the application.

The only acceptable English language tests are the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Canada English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP). Note that currently, the CELPIP is only conducted in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Toronto, Canada.

The IELTS is conducted all over the world. You must take the General IELTS exam – NOT the Academic.

You will not receive points for English language ability without submitted the results of an exam, and your application will not be processed. You can no longer provide alternative evidence of language ability as in the past.

For Federal Skilled Worker:

You can score a maximum of 24 points for English (or French) if indicated as your first official language according to the following chart:

IELTS to CLB Score Conversion (English Test)

Note that if you are testing English as your second language (and French is your first in your application), then you can only score a total of 4 points for a CLB level of 5 and above.

You can also take the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program test (the CELPIP-G test) as well.

If you have French speaking ability, you will need to take the Test D’Evaluation de Francais (TEF) that is administered in numerous locations. The grammar and structure portion of the TEF is not required for immigration.

For the TEF, you must submit results for the reading, listening, writing and speaking tests. The grammar and structure test is not required, even if you take it as part of the listing and reading portion.

You can score a total of 24 points of French is indicated as your first official language. TEF results are scored as follows:

TEF to CLB Score Conversion (French Language test)

If French is your second language under which you are applying, you can only score 4 points for CLB 5 and above.

If you have some French ability, it is likely worth your time to take the test, as applicants are often pleasantly surprised by scoring a few points on this exam. Those few points are especially important if you are just at the 67 point threshold.

The maximum you can score for English and French abilities is 28 points.