Canada Permanent Residence: New rule for language test scores under Express Entry
Not all testing organizations designated by IRCC provide exemptions on language evaluations. (Reuters)
Immigrants applying for Canada’s Express Entry program and permanent residence have to meet the requirements set by the government. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) accommodates foreign nationals with a physical or mental disability that prevents them from creating an Express Entry profile or from applying for permanent residence (APR).
The Canadian government has made it clear that to demonstrate they meet the requirements of at least one of the three programs managed through Express Entry, foreign nationals must record a score for each language skill area (reading, writing, listening and speaking) when they complete their Express Entry profile and electronic application for permanent residence (e-APR).
However, for persons whose language skills cannot be fully tested due to a disability, if it is determined that an applicant requires accommodation, the applicant may be exempted from the requirement to provide assessment results in up to three of four language skill areas, provided that notionalized (averaged) scores are provided.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept averaged scores generated by the designated language organization or by the department’s language averaging tool.
There is a public policy in place concerning economic class permanent residence applicants and Express Entry candidates whose language proficiency cannot be tested in all four language skill areas due to a physical or mental disability.
Exemptions provided by language testing organizations
Not all testing organizations designated by IRCC provide exemptions on language evaluations. Pearson Canada Inc. (PTE Core) and Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada (TCF Canada) do not currently provide exemptions on language evaluations.
An individual must provide medical documentation to the language testing organization to be exempted from being tested on a specific language skill area due to a disability. These accommodations, although not standardized between organizations, typically include modified test materials, extra time to complete the test and the use of assistive technology.
Foreign nationals are instructed to get their averaged scores through the department’s language averaging tool, and to use these scores when submitting their profiles in the Express Entry Profile Builder, and when submitting their e-APR.
The exception to this rule is foreign nationals who have taken an IELTS test, and who will receive an already notionalized (averaged) score directly from IELTS based on the average of their other band scores.
If a foreign national is invited to apply for permanent residence and submits an e-APR with averaged language test scores, the application will be accepted as complete and flagged for further review. The language test form will indicate that averaged scores have been used.
IRCC officers can use the department’s language averaging tool to confirm that applicants’ averaged language test scores are entered correctly.