IRCC has Accepted a New Language Test for Economic Class Immigrants

The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada has currently approved a new language exam for economic class immigrants. IRCC predicts that the writing exam will be implemented by early to mid-2023. However, the name of the new language test was updated in May 10 briefing note.

Within 12 months, IRCC will seek new initiatives that could improve the designation process. The change would make more organizations interested in designation and lead to IRCC entering into more agreements. Currently, the designations of language tests and their roles are not completely clear. To fix this problem, the team working with these assignments needs to balance its workload with new policy directives on immigration.

Consultation by IRCC to ensure that the CLBs are in line with CEFR

IRCC is currently investigating the Canadian Language Benchmark, as some are concerned that it’s not detailed enough for testing purposes compared to the common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). For example, instead of scoring on a scale from one to seven, CEFR test-takers get scored on an alphanumeric, A1-A2, B1-B2, C1-C2. 

How will a language test affect Canadian immigration?

Candidates for Canada’s economic class immigration programs are required to complete a new language test that shows how competent they are in English or French since research shows this is a major determinant of immigrants’ success in establishing themselves in the Canadian economy. Not only this, IRCC asserted to always keep French testing in the process.

In addition, if you want to get Canadian citizenship when you’re between ages 18 and 54, you’ll need to demonstrate your proficiency in one of the two official languages. Furthermore, international students moving to Canada for academic purposes need to appear in language exams and so now is the case for economic class immigration applicants. Whereas the applicants belong to temporary foreign workers and families and refugee class immigrants need not appear in language examinations.

The Immigration Branch will be exploring the feasibility of a new process to help people immigrate to Canada through a language designation program that would offer better integration, as well as establish a policy that can adapt to changing immigration needs. This will take place while maintaining the current approach of open intake testing designations.

Austin Campbell

Austin has been quite active in the immigration arena since 2010. He has authored over 250 immigration publications, given over 70 presentations, and organized numerous events featuring federal and provincial immigration ministers and leaders from other sectors. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and Durham University.
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