Re: Official Languages

From: Neeraj Mathur (neemathur_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 03/14/05 

Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 08:12:41 -0000

<phippsmartin@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1110759727.519344.164960@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Indeed, the ability to speak either official language is not a
> requirement to obtain citizenship in Canada. (In the United States,
> you are asked to take a test to become a citizen. The test is not
> designed to test English proficiency but the test is in English and
> anyone who could not read English would not be able to pass. There is
> no such requirement in Canada.)

That's not fully accurate. There is a test needed to become a citizen in
Canada, available after a certain number of years of living there as an
immigrant. The test is available, as far as I know, in English and French.
It has to be written by one member of the family (my father wrote it on
behalf of the four of us while my sister and I were still in school; my mom
didn't have to write it separately, however). Again, if you could not
understand either official language your chances would be aleatoric in this
test.

Speaking at least one of the official languages is also a major help in
immigration. Immigration to Canada is controlled by a 'points system': every
candidate is given a rating in various categories (such as age, education,
work experience, etc.) designed to see how easily they could settle in
Canada and integrate into Canadian society. If you meet a minimum number of
points, you are granted the right to immigrate. There is a category for
'Official Language'; last time I checked, there were fifteen points
available in this category, and you got ten if you were competent in at
least one language, and fifteen if you were competent in both.

Neeraj Mathur

Relevant Pages

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