The level of English required is a topic that causes a lot of confusion among people who are thinking or are in the middle of applying for temporary visa or permanent residency in Australia. What English should I have to migrate? What English requirements should I meet.
Well, there is no short answer to this question. It generally depends on:
- type of visa you are applying for
- your occupation that you have decided to nominate. Note that some professions require extra registration and thus extra English requirements
- the English requirements imposed by your skills assessment authority
- type of an applicant (‘primary’ or ‘secondary’)
For a long time the most popular English tests have been IELTS and English Occupational Test (OET) (the latter one is for medical and health-related professionals). However in recent years the Department of Immigration (DIBP) started accepting other English exam results:
Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-based test (TOEFL iBT) (results from November 2014 onwards)
Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) (results from November 2014 onwards)
The Cambridge Test of English (results from January 2015.)
For skilled visas if you are lucky to hold a passport from one the following countries you will be exempt from English requirement. The eligible passport countries are:
- Canada
- New Zealand
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Ireland
Keep in mind though if passport holders from above countries wish to claim extra points in test in General Skilled Migration for Proficient English (IELTS 7.0) or Superior English (IELTS 8.0) they still need to pass IELTS with these scores.
Another important factor to consider is your skill assessing authority’s requirements in relation to English requirements.
For example at the time of writing this article Australian Computer Society (ACS) doing skills assessment for IT workers does not require any English test results at all during their processing.
School teachers on the other hand have their English bar raised really high by AITSL. To be eligible to migrate as a teacher they need IELTS score of at least 7.0 for Reading and Writing and at least 8.0 for Speaking and Listening. The exception to this is four year study in higher education in English speaking country.
Therefore even if your IELTS 6.0 is sufficient in let’s say points-tested 189 visa you might get stuck on skills assessment and the whole process will not work. Check everything carefully then!
The Department of Immigration (DIBP) recognizes the following English levels which apply based on applicant’s circumstances and visa they want to apply for.
Vocational English
|
Exam
|
Listening
|
Reading
|
Writing
|
Speaking
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IELTS | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| TOEFL iBT | 4 | 4 | 14 | 14 |
| PTE Academic | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| OET | B | B | B | B |
| Cambridge (CAE) | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 |
Competent English
|
Exam
|
Listening
|
Reading
|
Writing
|
Speaking
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IELTS | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| TOEFL iBT | 12 | 13 | 21 | 18 |
| PTE Academic | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| OET | B | B | B | B |
| Cambridge (CAE) | 169 | 169 | 169 | 169 |
Proficient English
|
Exam
|
Listening
|
Reading
|
Writing
|
Speaking
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IELTS | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| TOEFL iBT | 24 | 24 | 27 | 23 |
| PTE Academic | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 |
| OET | B | B | B | B |
| Cambridge (CAE) | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 |
Superior English
|
Exam
|
Listening
|
Reading
|
Writing
|
Speaking
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IELTS | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| TOEFL iBT | 28 | 29 | 30 | 26 |
| PTE Academic | 79 | 79 | 79 | 79 |
| OET | A | A | A | A |
| Cambridge (CAE) | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 |
Functional English
This English requirement applies for secondary applicants (e.g. de-facto partners or spouses). If your partner is unable to prove a Functional English they will need to pay the second instalment for their visa which helps Australian government to cover English tuition fees for migrants.
There is a range of exemptions that your family member can use to prove Functional English and not paying the second instalment (e.g. by having part of their education completed in English)
|
Test component
|
Average across test components only
|
|---|---|
| IELTS | 4.5 |
| TOEFL iBT | 32 |
| PTE Academic | 30 |
| OET | n/a |
| Cambridge (CAE) | 147 |
Visa types and specific English requirements:
| Visa type | Minimum English required | Comments |
| 189 | Competent | Extra points for Proficient and Superior |
| 190 | Competent | Extra points for Proficient and Superior |
| 489 | Competent | Extra points for Proficient and Superior |
| 457 | Vocational | Exempt if salary over $96,400 per year or minimum 5 years full-time education in English |
| 186 (ENS) Direct Entry | Competent | Exempt if salary is over $180,001 |
| 186 (ENS) Temporary Residence Transition | Vocational | Exempt if salary over $180,001 per year or minimum 5 years full-time education in English |
| 186 Labour Agreeement | No English requirement specified | |
| 187 (RSMS) Direct Entry | Competent | Exempt if salary is over $180,001 |
| 187 (RSMS) Temporary Residence Transition | Vocational | Exempt if salary over $180,001 per year or minimum 5 years full-time education in English |
| 187 Labour Agreeement | No English requirement specified |
How long are English tests valid for?
Only tests taken up up to 3 years before an application lodgement are accepted by the Department of Immigration.
The exception to this is claiming a functional English – in this case an application should be lodged within 12 months after the test’s date.
Your skills assessment authority might also specify a different validity of your English test. Check with them before starting your skills assessment.
