Applying for immigration to Canada revolves around several factors, such as age, education and work experience. While most people choose to be determined on having a strong score in these factors, they often tend to overlook another – and arguably the most essential – qualifying factor: proficiency in English.
It is common knowledge that among all the migrants to move to Canada, those with a firm grasp on English have the higher odds of integrating into the country’s labor force and society. This is even more apparent in Canada’s immigration system, which focuses highly on language skills.
Especially in the Express Entry system, having strong language skills is imperative to gaining permanent residency – and even citizenship – in Canada via skilled migration.
Express Entry candidates are scored on a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) based on several factors, among which language skills carry a significant portion.
Under the CRS, a candidate who is without a spouse and has a high proficiency in English in all four language abilities – reading, writing, speaking and listening – can get as much as 290 points. This amounts to 63 per cent of the total points (460) needed to qualify for permanent residence in Canada.
In other words, having strong language skills will get you very near to the finish line in the race for skilled migration to Canada under the Express Entry system.
The same holds true for international students as well. Apart from grades, international students need a Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) level 7 (out of 12) to be able to apply for permanent residency in the country.
Moreover, international students with a greater language fluency are more likely to earn a higher income in their early years in the country compared to migrants with lesser English abilities.
Not only will this help in making a better living, but it will also allow them to become better integrated into the Canadian way of life.
Further proof of the government’s reliance on migrants having excellent language skills lies in the fact that applicants between the ages of 18 and 54 who apply for citizenship must show that they meet a CLB level of 4 or higher.
In short, all the statistics point to one irrefutable fact – having strong language skills is imperative to your hopes of migrating to Canada and becoming a full-fledged Canadian.
For more information on migration to Canada, contact eduaid!
