Glossary term

CLB (Canadian Language Benchmark)

The Canadian Language Benchmarks, a 12-level scale used by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to describe English ability for immigration programmes such as Express Entry. PTE Core scores convert to CLB levels, and IRCC reads each of the four skills separately rather than your overall score. CLB 9 — a common Express Entry target — requires Listening 82–88, Reading 78–87, Speaking 84–88 and Writing 88–89 on the PTE scale. PTE scores are normally valid for two years, though results used for Canadian citizenship applications never expire.