I am a native English or French speaker. Why do I need to take a language test for Express Entry?

Canada assesses everyone using the same standards, no matter their language of origin, nationality or ethnicity.

Every candidate must take a standard test by an objective third party. This is to make sure your language skills are assessed in a fair and unbiased way.

Even someone from an English-speaking country, who speaks English as a first language, needs to take a test. Likewise, someone from a French-speaking country, who speaks French as a first language, needs to take a test.

You need to submit third-party language results for all programs under Express Entry. You will have to include the results of your test(s) in your Express Entry profile.

Language tests have been required for our skilled immigration programs for many years. Find out more about language testing.