International students must now take an English proficiency test to apply for a Post Graduate Work Permit.
Canada’s Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced the requirement in November 2024, along with a few other changes to the International Student Program.
The English proficiency test, or the IELTS test, is required for people entering Canada on a student or work visa. The new rule requires they retake the test after being in the country for two to three years.
“It’s a total waste of money,” said Gurkamal Kaur, a second-year Business Management student at Humber Polytechnic.
“They think we knew English right before coming to Canada, then stayed here for some years and forgot English,” Kaur said.
Kaur said according to her research the cost of taking the exam varies from $370 to $400 at some centres.
Final year Health Administration studies student Sehneela Bhurman said the requirement is a "money-making market."
Nevertheless, the Humber student said she intends to take her test as soon as possible.
“The dates are running out, you need to save some money for the exam, and you can not be late or else all your future things will be late,” she said.
International students need to take this test before graduating and only then they can apply for their PGWP, said Yiqi Wang, the coordinator of Humber’s IELTS exam centre.
He said there are two types of tests, general and academic. Academic is what students need to take to come to Canada on a study basis, while the general test is an IRCC requirement for students to apply for PGWP or permanent residence.
For the students who plan on applying for their PGWP, general IELTS is the way to go.
“This test is to check the fluency of students who plan to stay in Canada further,” Wang said.
He said Humber has been with the British Council IELTS for eight years now and this past year had the highest number of students taking the test.
“The number has gone up, a lot,” Wang said. “It is probably because of the new rule but this is the highest it has been.”
He said Humber is still offering the test for much less than what other centres are asking for them.
“We’re still in the lower range from the market,” Wang said.
He said he knows some places charge from $375 to $390 for the test. The cost of taking the test at Humber is $365 including taxes which puts Humber in the lower price range.
Wang said students can opt for paper-based or computer-based tests depending on their capabilities. Humber’s North and Lakeshore campuses offer other services.
He said the only difference between the two forms is the time to get the results.
“For computer-based, you get your results in two to three days but for paper, it takes around 13 days,” Wang said.
Students can visit Humber's IELTS test website to book an exam or they can visit the IELTS test centre on the fifth floor at the North campus for more information.
