Is there a way to bypass the IELTS exam?

[KateVancity]

Hi all,

I recently had a consultation with an immigration specialist, and she told me I need to take the IELTS exam in order to earn points for Express Entry. I am a US citizen, and I have a bachelor and master degree from a 4-year university in the US. Is there any way to bypass the exam? It just seems silly for a US citizen immigrating to Canada to take a language test in English... -__-

I'm sure the exam won't be too challenging, but it is just so expensive. Any insights to this issue?

P.S. I found some free practice materials on this website. Are there any other websites out there that offer free practice materials?

Thank you all!

 

[bellaluna]

No. No exceptions for US citizens. British, Australians, Nigerians, etc...ALL applicants have to take it too.

 

[KateVancity]

NOOO... It is just such a pain in the butt to take this. I just did the listening portion of the exam, and it is just painful to sit through it.

 

[vivekforbes]

You have to take the IELTS or other language test to immigrate to Canada.

 

[Lorne Malvo]

Many applicants from english speaking countries get caught out on the IELTS or other english exams, thinking it will be a walk in the park.
If you want my advise make sure you do some research on the layout of the exam, study topics such as essay writing, letter writing, formats and punctuation if you want a good score.
And you will be against the clock...

 

[wildemam]

Hi all,

I recently had a consultation with an immigration specialist, and she told me I need to take the IELTS exam in order to earn points for Express Entry. I am a US citizen, and I have a bachelor and master degree from a 4-year university in the US. Is there any way to bypass the exam? It just seems silly for a US citizen immigrating to Canada to take a language test in English... -__-

I'm sure the exam won't be too challenging, but it is just so expensive. Any insights to this issue?

P.S. I found some free practice materials on this website. Are there any other websites out there that offer free practice materials?

Thank you all!

We were told by CIC personnel in an information session about EE, that professors of English literature had to take the test.

 

[maged_mmh]

Hi all,

I recently had a consultation with an immigration specialist, and she told me I need to take the IELTS exam in order to earn points for Express Entry. I am a US citizen, and I have a bachelor and master degree from a 4-year university in the US. Is there any way to bypass the exam? It just seems silly for a US citizen immigrating to Canada to take a language test in English... -__-

I'm sure the exam won't be too challenging, but it is just so expensive. Any insights to this issue?

P.S. I found some free practice materials on this website. Are there any other websites out there that offer free practice materials?

Thank you all!

sorry, no exceptions there even for native English speakers.

the exam is not difficult, it's just you need to be aware of "the IELTS way" especially in the writing part.
shop around in torrents portals, there's plenty of practice materials in pdf and audio, youtube also has very good videos

 

[JoacRy]

I'm an Australian living and working in Toronto. I did the English test with CELPIP. I highly recommend them. I know many people say good things about IELTS as well.

The thing is without doing the test you can't create an Express Entry profile.

https://www.celpiptest.ca/

 

[vivekforbes]

Many applicants from english speaking countries get caught out on the IELTS or other english exams, thinking it will be a walk in the park.
If you want my advise make sure you do some research on the layout of the exam, study topics such as essay writing, letter writing, formats and punctuation if you want a good score.
And you will be against the clock...

Exactly. You have to practice and know the patters before you take the test; otherwise, results will be shocking even for native English speakers.

 

[Scottygirl]

Hi all,

I recently had a consultation with an immigration specialist, and she told me I need to take the IELTS exam in order to earn points for Express Entry. I am a US citizen, and I have a bachelor and master degree from a 4-year university in the US. Is there any way to bypass the exam? It just seems silly for a US citizen immigrating to Canada to take a language test in English... -__-

I'm sure the exam won't be too challenging, but it is just so expensive. Any insights to this issue?

P.S. I found some free practice materials on this website. Are there any other websites out there that offer free practice materials?

Thank you all!

Unfortunately there is no way round it. We were born, raised and educated to further education standards in the UK and still had to take the CELPIP. I was told they could not 'discriminate' against non-English speaking applicants. I proceeded to tell them that I believed it to be a money making exercise at $300 a pop! We didn't do any real studying for it, just looked at the examples on the website. Exam supposed to take 3 hours but we were finished in 90 mins and got pretty high scores. Good luck!

 

[ozlis]

Find out if you will be handwriting the written section - that's what killed me, it had been ages since I had written and not typed!

 

[Scottygirl]

Find out if you will be handwriting the written section - that's what killed me, it had been ages since I had written and not typed!

Glad we did the CELPIP - it's all computer based!

 

[bellaluna]

I proceeded to tell them that I believed it to be a money making exercise at $300 a pop!

Indeed, and then they tell you it's only "valid for 2 years" and you'll have to retake it after 2 years. As if you'll forget your English knowledge then. :

 

[TheMaze]

Take the CELPIP

Seriously though, the CElPIP is a better option in my opinion. Just the fact that it's all on a computer (and you don't have to hand-write anything, unlike the IELTS) is reason enough. I believe CELPIP is cheaper, too.

 

[maged_mmh]

Take the CELPIP

Seriously though, the CElPIP is a better option in my opinion. Just the fact that it's all on a computer (and you don't have to hand-write anything, unlike the IELTS) is reason enough. I believe CELPIP is cheaper, too.

CELPIP Test sittings are currently only available in Canada