TORONTO – The authorities in Canada have started accepting PTE Core scores for the purpose of immigration to the country.
With the fresh rules in place, Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates, candidates in Express Entry managed programs, those needing a language test for any other Canadian immigration purposes, and those applying for Canadian citizenship can now take the Pearson Test of English Core for meeting the language threshold criteria.
The registrations for the PTE Core have begun and the first test in this regard is scheduled within the next 10 days. The PTE Core is a computer-based language test that examines the candidates for proving general English ability for Canadian immigration.
Within two hours, the candidates are gauged for their speaking, writing, reading and listening skills. Previously, the PTE Essential test was approved for Canadian immigration last year.
Presently, five types of tests are accepted by the authorities in Canada for immigration i.e. CELPIP General Test (English), IELTS General Training (English), PTE Core (English), TEF Canada (French), and TCF Canada (French).
It is to be highlighted that last year, Canada announced accepting PTE Academic Test Centre scores for all its Student Direct Stream applications. At that time, the requirement for IELTS Academic test takers had also been modified. Previously, individuals had to achieve a minimum score of 6.0 in all categories – Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking but as per the changes, students would only require to achieve a minimum overall band score of 6.0.
Interestingly, the changes come despite the announcement by the Immigration minister to reduce the influx of international students by 35 percent as compared to 2023.
In an official press release issued recently, the immigration minister announced that the government will set an intake cap on international student permit applications to stabilize new growth for a period of two years.
‘For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35% from 2023,’ the press release stated.
The official communication highlighted that in the spirit of fairness, individual provincial and territorial caps have been established, weighted by population, which will result in much more significant decreases in provinces where the international student population has seen the most unsustainable growth.
As part of the reforms, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will allocate a portion of the cap to each province and territory, which will then distribute the allocation among their designated learning institutions.
The government announced that to implement the cap, as of January 22, 2024, every study permit application submitted to IRCC will also require an attestation letter from a province or territory.
