What is IELTS?
The International English Language Test System – IELTS – is one of the educational tests recognized by the federal government of Canada. It is jointly managed by Cambridge Assessment English and IDP: IELTS Australia to measure the candidate’s English language proficiency. IELTS uses a nine-band scale to identify skill levels, from Non-User (Band Score 1) to Expert (Band Score 9).
There are two categories available under IELTS:
- Academic: For people wishing to apply for higher education or professional registration
- General education: For people immigrating to Canada, the UK, and Australia
The candidate’s competence is checked in the language in four sections: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. On the day of the exam, the reading, listening, and writing sections are completed without interruption between them. The speaking section can be completed within a week before or after the other sections.
Listening
Duration: 30 minutes
Candidates will be required to listen to four recordings and must write answers to a series of questions.
Reading
Duration: 60 minutes
This section has 40 questions that are specially designed to test a candidate’s reading skills. This includes skimming, reading for gist, understanding logical arguments, reading for main ideas, and identifying the writer’s attitude, opinion and purpose.
Writing
Duration: 60 minutes
The candidate will be offered two subjects of general interest:
- Task 1: The candidate will be presented with a situation and asked to write a letter requesting information or explaining the situation.
- Task 2: The candidate needs to write an essay answering a problem, point of argument, or view.
Speaking
Duration: 11-14 minutes
This section tests the candidate’s English speaking skills.
IELTS Score for Canada PR Visa
The Express Entry program – the fastest immigration route for the PR visa from Canada, is an application management system for three main federal immigration programs:
- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
- Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
Candidates need to get a minimum of 6 per band in the IELTS examination that translates to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 to be eligible to create an express entry profile in the express entry program.
Here are the IELTS minimum requirements for the Express Entry program:
Federal Skilled Worker Program
Maximum points are awarded if you can get the CLB 10 or higher – 34 and 32 (if you are married).
CLB Level | Points per band | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing |
7 | 4 | 6.0-7.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
8 | 5 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
9 | 6 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
10 or higher | 6 | 8.5-9.0 | 8.0-9.0 | 7.5-9.0 | 7.5-9.0 |
In case candidate have English as your second official language, they can get the point based on:
CLB Level | Points per band | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing |
5 or higher | 4 | 5.0-9.0 | 4.0-9.0 | 5.0-9.0 | 4.0-9.0 |
Federal Skilled Trades Program
CLB Level | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing |
4 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
5 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
6 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
7 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
8 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
9 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
10 or higher | 8.5-9.0 | 8.0-9.0 | 7.5-9.0 | 7.5-9.0 |
Canadian Experience Class
If your occupation is below NOC skill level A, a minimum CLB level 7 is required. Occupations that are classified as NOC skill level B needs at least CLB level 5. The following table lists the different CLB levels with IELTS scores:
NOC Skill level | CLB level | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing |
A | 10 or higher | 8.5-9.0 | 8.0-9.0 | 7.5-9.0 | 7.5-9.0 |
A | 9 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
A | 8 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
A | 7 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
B | 6 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
B | 5 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
Canada PR Visa With Low IELTS Score
There are over 80 immigration programs under Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to help immigrants move to Canada. Express Entry is the most famous way to apply for a Canada PR Visa. But he has high language proficiency requirements to apply for a Canadian PR visa process.
Other immigration programs have low IELTS score requirements to apply for a PR visa from Canada. Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) is one such immigration program that provides an immigration route to the Canadian PR visa with a low IELTS score. Here are some of the PNP with low IELTS score requirements:
- Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP): The candidate needs to score at least 4.5 per band in the IELTS examination.
- Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP): The candidate needs to score at least 4.5 per band.
- Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP): Candidates can apply for Manitoba PNP with a low IELTS score as 4.5
Besides these Quebec Skilled Worker Programs (QSWP) with CLB Level 5 and Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP), there are other immigration programs with low IELTS scores for the RP visa from Canada.
What are IELTS Exam Fees?
The IELTS exam can be taken in two formats: paper or computer.
- Paper-based test: INR 15,500
- Computer-delivered test: INR 15,500
Canada Visa Fees In Indian Rupees
Tips and Tricks for IELTS
We have compiled a list of some of the major tips and tricks that will help a candidate to score desired results in the IELTS examination:
- Basic and Most Effective Tip – Study Hard
IELTS can be a tricky exam, especially the listening section. The candidate needs to be fully prepared for the exam and study hard.
- Practice, Practice and more Practice
Even after a candidate gets comfortable with the pattern of the exam, they just need to keep practicing.
The candidate needs to be more focused while going through the listening section as the candidate will only hear the recording one time during their exam. Once you miss the word, that’s it. You can’t go back or have someone play it back for you.
- Focus – The main KEY
You must be in your “A” game when you take the exam. Here are the top tips for each ability you need to take care of:
Speaking: Answer questions as if you were with colleagues. Always speak in engaging words that convey emotions. Avoid giving answers in one work or one short statement. Also do not focus on your accent.
Writing: Candidates need to practice writing before appearing for the writing section. There will be 2 questions with a 150 and 250-word limit. Try to not write less than the word limit. Candidates can get an estimate of the number of words by counting the number of words in a sentence and then counting the number of sentences.
Reading: The candidate needs to go through the text quickly in the first read and then slowly in the second read to fully understand the questions and then answer them. It is one of the simpler sections in the IELTS exam as the questions appear in the same order as the answers.
Listening: The candidate needs to be focused on the exam, especially in the listening section without any distractions. Try to write the word as soon as possible or you hear it. If you miss it, don’t think about it.
