Irony of English test for Canadian Visa not lost on English professors

American Sara Landreth has a PhD in English literature and has been hired to teach English literature at the University of Ottawa, but her Canadian Visa application will not be processed unless she submits to a CA$280 English language test. Her husband, James Brooke-Smith, a British citizen who also holds a PhD in English literature, will also have to take the test.

The change was only made last month by a ministerial instruction signed by Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

Critics say the change runs over Canadian immigration law, which states that applicants don’t have to write the test if they can provide other evidence, in writing, of their proficiency in an official language.

The Department of Citizenship and Immigration has responded by saying the move to an independently administered test will help prevent fraud and ensure a fair and transparent method of evaluation.

Landreth has complained there is no clause for professional capabilities or mother tongue language, and the inflexibility of the system only creates unnecessary red tape.

Toronto lawyer Cathryn Sawicki has launched a legal challenge to the new rules in Federal Court.

Kelli Fraser, a Canadian Immigration departmental spokeswoman, said the change was made through ministerial instruction to speed processing before a formal regulation change is enacted.
 
 “We felt that going to a language test option was the most fair, transparent, objective, consistent and accurate way to evaluate different applicants’ language skills,” she said.

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The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people apply for a Canadian Visa with the Canadian Embassy.