PTE Core for Canadian Immigration

Name: PTE Core for Canadian Immigration
Creator: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
License: https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada

Last verified: Aug 8, 2026

PTE Core is Pearson's four-skill English test for Canadian economic immigration, IRCC-approved since December 2023. PTE Academic is a different test and is not accepted.

Result turnaround: Typically within 48 hours, the fastest of any IRCC-approved test.
Cost: Approximately CAD 360 in Canada before tax; confirm with your test centre.
Validity: 2 years from the test date.
Test centres: Pearson centres in 100+ countries, including several across Canada.

Scores, CLB / NCLC levels, and CRS points

Convert my PTE Core scores

Each ability is scored 10–90. IRCC uses the per-ability scores only; there is no overall score in CRS.

Listening

CLB / NCLC level	Test score
10	89
9	82
8	71
7	60
6	50
5	39
4	28

Reading

CLB / NCLC level	Test score
10	88
9	78
8	69
7	60
6	51
5	42
4	33

Writing

CLB / NCLC level	Test score
10	90
9	88
8	79
7	69
6	60
5	51
4	41

Speaking

CLB / NCLC level	Test score
10	89
9	84
8	76
7	68
6	59
5	51
4	42

CRS impact

Level	Example test scores	CRS effect
CLB 7	Listening 60, Reading 60, Writing 69, Speaking 68	Baseline for Express Entry; unlocks bilingualism bonus if paired with NCLC 7+.
CLB 9	Listening 82, Reading 78, Writing 88, Speaking 84	Maximum 'medium' tier in CRS: significant jump vs CLB 7.
CLB 10	Listening 89, Reading 88, Writing 90, Speaking 89	Top tier; no further CRS points above this level.

Before you book

Unlimited retakes, but there is no single-skill retake: one weak ability means rewriting the full test.
CLB 9 Writing requires a PTE Core score of 88, the hardest threshold for most candidates.
Scoring is AI-assisted throughout, including Speaking, so practise in the official computer-delivered format.