Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has recently announced that Canada will now accept scores from four new tests. IRCC will begin accepting test results for four new tests on August 10, 2023.
Student Direct Stream (SDS) applicants can now opt for any of the following tests:
- CELPIP General
- PTE Academic
- TOEFL iBT Test
- CAEL
Students appearing for the aforementioned test must fulfil the eligibility criteria:
- In the CELPIP general test, a student should have scored at least 7 in each of the four language abilities, which are equivalent to the Canadian Language Benchmark.
- Anyone who is appearing for the CAEL and PTE Academic Tests should have scored a minimum of 60.
- Students need a score of 83 in the Educational Testing Service (ETS) TOEFL iBT to be eligible to study in Canada.
Before the decision came into effect, only IELTS General and Academic were approved by the IRCC for SDS students.
Eligibility criteria for Student Direct Stream:
The SDS expedites the processing of study permits for students from particular countries. Legal residents of Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Senegal, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, or Vietnam are eligible for SDS.
Apart from being a legal resident of these countries, a student must fulfil the following requirements:
- provide a copy of an acceptance letter from a designated learning institution (DLI) in Canada;
- provide verification of the applicant’s original medical examination;
- demonstrate that they have a $10,000 Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC);
- The applicant must provide evidence that tuition fees for the first year of study have been paid.
- Plus, provide proof of language test results concluded within two years of the SDS application being received;
- and submit the application at a Visa Application Centre (VAC).
The IRCC recently reported that the country will host over 800,000 students in 2022. Canada’s international students quadrupled compared to 2008.