IELTS Score and CLB Equivalency – Proving your English language ability is an important part of Canadian Immigration process. Taking IELTS test is the most preferred way to do that. In Canada, the ‘Canadian Language Benchmark’ (CLB) is used as a national standard to check the English language abilities of immigration applicants. But the IELTS test have a different scoring structure than CLB. The CLB scores start from Level 1 to Level 12, whereas IELTS scores range from 0-9 bands. Although two scoring systems are different but its quite easy to convert IELTS score to CLB
How to convert IELTS score to CLB:
IRCC accepts International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – General Training test scores for the purpose of immigration to Canada. The CRS points that IRCC awards to applicants for their English language abilities are based on the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLBs). Below chart gives the equivalencies between the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLBs) (for English) and the results of IELTS test and will help to Convert IELTS score to CLB.
| CLB Level | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| 9 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 |
| 8 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 6.5 |
| 7 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| 6 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| 5 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| 4 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
Taking a cue from the above table, we can say that CLB 9 means an IELTS score of 7 in Reading, 7 in Writing, 8 in Listening and 7 in Speaking. In the same way, if an applicant gets 7 each in Reading, Writing and Speaking but 7.5 in Listening then the CLB score would be 8. Remember, the lowest section score decides the CLB (Canadian Language Benchmark) level.
Score as high as possible in IELTS:
The higher you score in your IELTS exam, the more points you are awarded in your PR application. The best IELTS score for Canada PR is CLB 10 that can get you 32 to 34 CRS points in your application. Nonetheless, every applicant should aim to get at least CLB 9 score (7-R,7-W,7-S,8-L) which is quite achievable.
