If you\u2019re seeking Canadian permanent residency through Express Entry, language proficiency can make or break your chances of success.<\/p>\n
As a sole applicant, you can score up to 310 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points for language proficiency.*<\/p>\n
Book a CELPIP Test Date Maximizing your language points can give you an edge over other candidates in the increasingly-competitive Express Entry pool.<\/p>\n There’s no limit to the number of times you can re-take language tests, so as your language proficiency increases, you can re-test and boost your score with the latest results.<\/p>\n And if you can get a high enough French proficiency, you can qualify for French-language category-based draws, which have seen some of the lowest CRS cut-off scores of any draws in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n *Language proficiency CRS points:<\/p>\n Example<\/p>\n Amy has a Comprehensive Ranking System<\/a> (CRS) score of 515 \u2013 not enough to qualify for any of the three most recent Canadian Experience Class<\/a> (CEC) draws, which had cut-off scores of\u00a0 527, 521, and 547.<\/p>\n Amy is 30 years old. She has a bachelor\u2019s degree from a Canadian university, three years of foreign work experience, five years of Canadian work experience, and an English proficiency of Canadian Language Benchmark<\/a> (CLB) 8 across all language abilities.<\/p>\n Amy studies for several months, re-takes her English language test, and scores CLB 9 across all abilities.<\/p>\n Her CRS score increases from 515 to 559, more than enough to qualify for the most recent CEC draws.<\/p>\n With a CLB 9, Amy could have expected to receive an invitation to apply<\/a> (ITA) for Canadian permanent residency<\/a> through Express Entry, if she’d had a valid profile at the time of each draw.<\/p>\n As we can see from this example, boosting your language score by even one CLB level can make you much more competitive as an Express Entry<\/a> candidate.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the breakdown of Amy\u2019s CRS score at CLB 8 and CLB 9, with the differences bolded:<\/p>\n In going from CLB 8 to CLB 9, Amy gained an additional 44 points \u2013 32 in the Language portion of Core Human Capital, and 12 for the Education skill transferability factor.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\tSection of CRSMaximum points for language proficiency
\n<\/tr>\n\n Core human capital<\/td>\n 160<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Skill transferability<\/td>\n 100 (50 + 50)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Additional Points – French<\/td>\n 50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\tFactorPoints with CLB 8Points with CLB 9
\n<\/tr>\n\n Age<\/td>\n 105<\/td>\n 105<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Level of Education<\/td>\n 120<\/td>\n 120<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Official languages proficiency<\/strong><\/td>\n 92<\/strong><\/td>\n 124<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Canadian Work Experience<\/td>\n 80<\/td>\n 80<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Skill transferability \u2013 language proficiency + post-secondary education<\/strong><\/td>\n 13<\/strong><\/td>\n 25<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Skill transferability \u2013 Canadian work experience + post-secondary education<\/td>\n 25<\/td>\n 25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Skill transferability \u2013 Foreign work experience + Canadian work experience<\/td>\n 50<\/td>\n 50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Additional points \u2013 post-secondary education in Canada<\/td>\n 30<\/td>\n 30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total Points<\/strong><\/td>\n 515<\/strong><\/td>\n 559<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n