A new language test will soon be executed in (early to mid) 2023 for economic class immigration applicants by IRCC.
Currently, IELTS and CELPIP are the only designated organizations for English whereas TEF and TCF are there for the French language.
Even though there were several challenges during the Covid, the testing organizations with a designation are right on track to fulfill the demands of the immigration applicants.
IRCC still has scope for improvements because a large number of organizations are providing language testing and demanding a designation.
Organizations seeking designation must go through a long, complex, and less transparent process. IRCC looks forward to bringing forth more initiatives in the preceding twelve months.
The execution of these improvements is expected to lead to more organizations seeking designation. IRCC hasn’t yet restricted the number of language testing organizations and the contractual agreements.
The roles and responsibilities of these language tests are not yet divided or defined clearly. Their policies and operational implications tend to overlap with one another. IRCC’s designated team is an intrinsic part of the immigration branch, balancing the file management along with the introduction of the priorities of new policies.
IRCC aims to immediately prioritize signing and completing the service agreement by providing a designation to the anonymous company and proceeding further with the implementation.
Long-term priorities emphasize the framework of the language designation, including the primary criteria of technical designation and the possible results of the language proficiency according to the standard levels.
IRCC analyzes the CLBs and CEFR
IRCC is closely analyzing the Canadian Language benchmark and feels it is too minutely detailed compared to the Common European Framework of Reference. Unlike the CLB, CEFR scores are decided based on the Alphanumerical scale of A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.
IRCC will conduct intense research on the CLB scores to ensure that the scoring standard of other language tests is equivalent in terms of difficulty level and the test’s objective.
French testing cannot be excluded
The new policies and initiatives must align with the priorities of the other departments. Particularly IRCC must align well with francophone immigration. The French testing organizations looking forward to a designation because they expect to witness an increase in demand soon. The TEF and TCF organizations are prepared to meet the increase in demand by the department with a better position. The designation process will likely become more effective and efficient with more French language tests.
Language tests and their history
IRCC only acknowledges the language tests from designated organizations as proof of one’s language ability. The current practice of acknowledging only the approved designated organizations providing language tests was primarily to help candidates demonstrate their efficiency in language skills. This practice was said to provide a transparent and justified process.
The immigration applicants are evaluated based on the approval given by the immigration minister to designate a specific language test-providing organization and further approve their specific tests. Economic Immigration Programs and Policies director has been given the above role.
IRCC established the designation process based on several factors, such as operational requirements, regulatory needs, objectives of programs and policies, etc. The immigration regulations also decide the entire framework for the organizations to be designated.
For a language testing organization to achieve a designation, they will have to submit proof of how they will be meeting IRCCs criteria.
Language test requirement
The Canadian economic immigration programs usually demand candidates to qualify under any designated language test, French or English. The primary reason and justification for testing a candidate’s language proficiency is their potential to contribute to the Canadian economy. It is believed that if a candidate is competent in the language, he will be able to contribute sufficiently to the economy.
On the other hand, there are also the refugee and family class immigrants who come to the country to fulfill humanitarian and social objectives and therefore, don’t need to demonstrate their language abilities.
Individuals aged 18 to 54 years will have to prove their English and French proficiency when they apply for Canadian citizenship. They will have to demonstrate their language proficiency based on the language test results or through a few other IRCC- approved ways.
International students will also need to prove their language skills, unlike the temporary foreign workers because they will need to show that they will be able to academically establish themselves in the country.
Canada’s government has separate criteria to determine which language tests will be accepted. The rules for proving the language skills will differ for each of the designated learning institutions in Canada.
Future steps
IRCCs immigration branch will introduce new objectives for setting up a framework for a language designation.
The main activity among the several priorities of IRCC will be reviewing the designation process, for increased efficiency and transparency.
Further, public-facing and internal communication improvements are listed as other priorities. They will also help attract more interest for an increase in the French testing organizations.
Since the demand for language testing organizations is increasing gradually, the IRCCs immigration branch is bent on establishing more language testing programs with management dedicated to making the language testing process more coherent and streamlined, with program functions. Specific programs will assist IRCC in the expansion of its policy. These programs will also continue with the existing approach of open intake for language testing designations.
