Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

Marginal note:Official languages

• 79 (1) A skilled worker must specify in their application for a permanent resident visa which language — English or French — is to be considered their first official language in Canada and which is to be considered their second official language in Canada and must have their proficiency in those languages assessed by an organization or institution designated under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Proficiency in English and French (24 points)

  (2) Assessment points for proficiency in the official languages of Canada shall be awarded up to a maximum of 24 points based on the benchmarks referred to in Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000 for the English language and Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens 2006 for the French language, as follows:

  • (a) for the ability to speak, listen, read or write with high proficiency

    • (i) in the first official language, 4 points for each of those abilities if the skilled worker’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 8 or higher, and

    • (ii) in the second official language, 2 points for each of those abilities if the skilled worker’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 8 or higher;

  • (b) for the ability to speak, listen, read or write with moderate proficiency

    • (i) in the first official language, 2 points for each of those abilities if the skilled worker’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 6 or 7, and

    • (ii) in the second official language, 2 points for each of those abilities if the skilled worker’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 6 or 7; and

  • (c) for the ability to speak, listen, read or write

    • (i) with basic proficiency in either official language, 1 point for each of those abilities, up to a maximum of 2 points, if the skilled worker’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 4 or 5, and

    • (ii) with no proficiency in either official language, 0 points if the skilled worker’s proficiency corresponds to a benchmark of 3 or lower.

• Marginal note:Designated organization

  (3) The Minister may designate organizations or institutions to assess language proficiency for the purposes of this section and shall, for the purpose of correlating the results of such an assessment by a particular designated organization or institution with the benchmarks referred to in subsection (2), establish the minimum test result required to be awarded for each ability and each level of proficiency in the course of an assessment of language proficiency by that organization or institution in order to meet those benchmarks.

• Marginal note:Conclusive evidence

  (4) The results of an assessment of the language proficiency of a skilled worker by a designated organization or institution and the correlation of those results with the benchmarks in accordance with subsection (3) are conclusive evidence of the skilled worker’s proficiency in the official languages of Canada for the purposes of subsections (1) and 76(1).