Open doors to Canada with IELTS

To gain a Canadian visa, you will need to demonstrate your English abilities to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).IELTS is one of the world’s most popular high-stakes English language tests, with  over 3 million tests taken in the past year.  And it’s the English test of choice for educational organisations, professional associations and employers across Canada. In fact, all universities and colleges in Canada accept IELTS, as well as all professional associations that have set minimum language requirements for professional registration.

What score do you need?

The IELTS score you need depends on the requirements of your visa, and the organisation where you plan to study or work.

Find out who accepts IELTS and check the score required.

IELTS assesses your English proficiency on a scale from 1–9 in four skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. You have a choice of two tests – IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training – depending on the requirements set by the organisation where you plan to work or study.

Find a test date

You can take an IELTS test in more than 150 locations across Canada. There is a test centre in each province’s capital city and in many regional cities.           

Prepare for your test

Preparing for your test is an important part of the process. Take advantage of our free resources to help improve your language and communication skills. Download the Information for Candidates booklet (PDF, 1,021KB), and check out the sample test questions online.

You can also order Official IELTS Practice Materials which include samples of past Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking sections, complete with sample answers and examiner comments.  You can also purchase these practice materials from local test centres.

Are you a native English speaker?

Native English speakers are also strongly advised to prepare for the IELTS test. It is easy to feel overconfident about the test when you have been using English all your life. But, if you want to achieve the best possible score for your test, you need to familiarise yourself with the test format. You can also access preparation materials to ensure you are ready for test day.