On March 10, 2010, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) is streamlining the process for assessing the language skills of applicants under the Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience classes. “The language requirements themselves have not changed,” said Minister Kenney. “But beginning April 10, 2010, prospective immigrants will be required to prove their English and French language abilities at the time they apply. This requirement supports our commitment to fast, fair and efficient application processing.”

Previously, to prove language ability in French or English, applicants could either submit an independent, third-party test (the IELTS for English or the TEF for French) or a written submission to a visa officer. The written submission was intended for people whose first language is either English or French. However, many applicants whose first language was not English or French were taking advantage of the written submission. The submission wouldn’t adequately prove their ability and they would have to provide further evidence, leading to processing delays that could take months.

“We expect that applicants will have the language skills they claim on their application. Now, applicants in these categories will have only one opportunity to prove their language ability,” said Minister Kenney. “They can still make a written submission to a visa officer if they wish, but only once.”

“We strongly encourage applicants whose first language isn’t English or French to take a language test,” said Minister Kenney. “We don’t want immigrants to be surprised if their written submission doesn’t match their reported ability, and they don’t get the desired assessment.”

According to CIC, an immigrant’s English or French language ability is one of the strongest predictors of their success in the job market. Canadian Experience Class applicants must meet minimum language requirements based on the job they do. On a selection grid worth 100 points in total, Federal Skilled Workers can be awarded up to 24 points for their official language ability.

The end result of this change is that applicants seeking permanent residence under the Federal Skilled Worker or Canadian Experience classes should take the IELTS and/or TEF test prior to applying, unless their first language is English or French or they can provide compelling evidence to support their claim that they have sufficient language ability.