English-Language Proficiency Requirements for Migration to Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - and the Implications for Language Testing Research

Oct 15, 2026

Language proficiency testing plays a dual role in global migration, functioning both as a facilitator and as an obstacle for newcomers. The paper examines how Canada and other traditional migrant-destination countries use English-language proficiency tests for immigration, asylum and resettlement, and citizenship. It compares shared features across these pathways and discusses covert values embedded in required test scores. It also reviews research approaches through Shohamy’s Critical Language Testing and concludes with Canada-specific research and advocacy suggestions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Migration and language testing roles

Immigration, asylum, resettlement, and citizenship requirements

Tests as instruments of power and fairness concerns

Country comparisons and English testing use

Research implications and Canada-focused recommendations

English-Language Proficiency Requirements for Migration to Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the Implications for Language Testing Research Melissa McLeod Queen’s University Abstract Language proficiency testing has long played a role as both facilitator and barrier in global migration. This paper outlines how Canada and other traditional migrant destination countries use English-language proficiency testing for immigration, asylum and resettlement, and citizenship. It identifies commonalities between these three related areas of migration and the covert values that are often embedded in the required test scores. It identifies different approaches for conducting research under the umbrella of Shohamy’s (2001) Critical Language Testing and concludes with language testing research and advocacy suggestions specific to the Canadian context. Résumé Les tests de compétences linguistiques ont depuis longtemps joué un double rôle au sein dela migration mondiale en étant à la fois un facteur facilitant et un obstacle. Cet article examine comment le Canada et d'autres pays traditionnels d'accueil migratoire emploient les tests decompétences linguistiques en anglais dans les processus d'immigration, les demandes d'asileet de relocalisation, ainsi que les demandes de citoyenneté . Il identifie les points communsentre ces trois domaines connexes de la migration et les valeurs cachées qui sont souvent intégrées dans les résultats des tests exigés. L'article détermine différentes approches pour mener des recherches sous l'égide de l'ouvrage Critical Language Testing de Shohamy (2001) et se conclut avec des suggestions de recherche et de défense des droits en matière de tests linguistiques spécifiques au contexte canadien. English-Language Proficiency Requirements for Migration to Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the Implications for Language Testing Research “Let’s not look at the immigration story with our eyes wide shut”(Yalnizyan, 2021). By 2019, there were approximately 272 million international migrants, already surpassing the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) projected 230 million people by the year 2050 (IOM, 2020). Their journeys are both physical and metaphorical as they navigate building a new life in a new country (Saville, 2009) . There is a commonly held belief that having a higher level of proficiency in the host country’s national language will improve migrants’ ability to communicate in daily life and will facilitate their integration into their new host country. The use of language tests in the context of global migration can both facilitate and ease relocating as well as block migration entirely. Immigration, asylum and resettlement, and citizenship are three instances in which international migrants may need to meet language proficiency requirements to live in a host country. However, language proficiency tests are “devices which are anchored in broad social realities, ideologies, politics, economics, policy agendas, and diversity”(Shohamy, 2013, p. 226). This is particularly the case for immigration, asylum and resettlement, and citizenship. For people on the move, language tests have long been used in some form or another to determine who gets protection, who gets in, who gets to remain, and ultimately who gets to become a citizen. As McNamara (2005) put it, language tests are a modern-day Shibbolethi still being used to determine group membership when there is conflict between groups. Language testers need to engage more critically with the use of tests as instruments of power that control “migration, globalization, ethnic diversity, and linguistic and human rights”(Shohamy & McNamara, 2009, p. 1) . Shohamy and McNamara (2009) argued we need to consider whether the language tests we develop that are being used in this context are, in fact, being used in a manner that is just and fair. There has already been considerab

FAQs

What roles do English-language proficiency tests play in migration?

They can facilitate relocation and integration, but they can also block migration entirely. The paper frames testing as both an enabler and an obstacle in the migration process.

Which migration contexts are analyzed in the paper?

The paper focuses on immigration, asylum and resettlement, and citizenship. These are described as key instances where migrants may need to meet language proficiency requirements.

How does the paper position language tests in relation to power and fairness?

It treats language tests as instruments anchored in social realities, ideologies, politics, economics, and policy agendas. It argues that research should consider whether test use is just and fair.

Oct 15, 2026

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