Canada. The land of maple syrup, ice hockey and Niagara Falls. If you enjoy a high quality of life, easy access to the beautiful countryside from the city and you don’t mind the snow, then Canada is a great choice for you.
Not sure if Canada is a good place to live? Well, it boasts the most well-educated population on Earth – in fact over half of its residents have college degrees.
Also, it is home to the longest coastline of any country in the world, and there are more lakes in Canada than the rest of the lakes on Earth combined!
Known as a peaceful country, the police officers in Canada also hand out “positive tickets” when they see members of the public doing good. If that doesn’t convince you it’s a great choice, nothing will!
Once you’ve set your sights on moving to Canada, you may be wondering about what you need to do to get there. Every immigration department around the world will have its own rules and regulations for the immigration process.
You must familiarise yourself with these and ensure you know exactly what is expected. As with other English speaking countries, Canada requires you to have a minimum IELTS score.
IELTS, which stand for the International English Language Testing System, is a test used to determine a non-native English speaker’s ability in the English language.
It is internationally recognised and trusted by many governments and university institutions around the globe.
If you are looking to emigrate to Canada, you will most likely apply for Express Entry. However, there are many different paths within the Express Entry, and each one has a different IELTS requirement.
Federal Skilled Worker Program
This path is suitable for people who are skilled workers, who have foreign work experience and who want to emigrate to Canada permanently.
There are minimum requirements of skilled work experience, language ability (English/French) and level of education.
Other considerations in the application process will include age, whether you have received a valid job offer and your adaptability to settling abroad. You are awarded points for each of these areas, and the current pass mark is 67 points.
If you wish to prove your language ability in English, then you need to take a recognised test to demonstrate your competence. IELTS is a recognised test for English in Canada.
In IELTS, you will be tested on reading, writing, listening and speaking. For each of these areas, you must obtain a minimum Canadian Language Benchmark score of CLB7.
To achieve this, you need a minimum of IELTS Band 6 in all of the four tests.
Federal Skilled Trades Program
For the Federal Skilled Trades Program, the minimum requirements are different. You must have the required level of language ability and at least two years of valid working experience in a skilled trade (this must have been in the past five years).
You need to meet the job requirements for the skilled trade (as stated in the National Occupational Classification) and you need to have a valid job offer or certificate of qualification issued by a Canadian authority.
Regarding language ability, you need to achieve a minimum Canadian Language Benchmark score of CLB5 for speaking and listening and CLB4 for reading and writing. To achieve this, you need an IELTS Band 5 for speaking and listening, IELTS Band 3.5 for reading and IELTS Band 4 for writing.
Canadian Experience Class
The minimum requirements, if you are applying for the Canadian Experience Class, are meeting the required language level and having a minimum of 1-year full-time skilled work experience in Canada.
The language ability requirements for this visa depend on the type of job you are applying for.
Managerial and professional jobs require a minimum Canadian Language Benchmark score of CLB7. To achieve this, you need to score a minimum IELTS Band 6 in all four tests (reading, writing, speaking and listening).
Skilled trades and technical jobs require a minimum score of CLB5. To achieve this, you need to score a minimum IELTS Band 5 in listening, speaking and writing and IELTS Band 4 in reading.