In 2026 CELPIP-General is accepted by Canada's IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) for Express Entry — 7 in each of the 4 skills for the Federal Skilled Worker Program — and for Canadian citizenship, and by Australia's Department of Home Affairs for visas, from an overall 5 for Functional English to 10 / 10 / 12 / 10 for Superior English. It is not accepted by Ahpra (the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) for registering nurses, doctors and other health practitioners. In Australia there are 2 more conditions: the test must be sat at a test centre, and it must have been taken on or after 7 August 2025.
The table below is the short version: who says yes, the minimum score each one asks for, and how old your result is allowed to be. Every row was checked against the decision-maker's own page on 23 October 2026.
Who accepts CELPIP in 2026: the full table
| Decision-maker and purpose | CELPIP accepted? | Minimum CELPIP score | How old the result can be | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRCC (Canada), Express Entry: Federal Skilled Worker | Yes, CELPIP-General | 7 in each of the 4 skills (CLB 7) | Less than 2 years old when you complete your profile and when you apply for permanent residence | canada.ca, Express Entry language testing |
| IRCC, Express Entry: Canadian Experience Class | Yes, CELPIP-General | 7 in each skill for NOC TEER 0 or 1; 5 in each skill for TEER 2 or 3 | Less than 2 years old, as above | canada.ca, Express Entry language testing |
| IRCC, Express Entry: Federal Skilled Trades | Yes, CELPIP-General | 5 in speaking and listening; 4 in reading and writing | Less than 2 years old, as above | canada.ca, Express Entry language testing |
| IRCC, Canadian citizenship (applicants aged 18 to 54) | Yes, CELPIP-G | 4 or higher in listening and speaking | No age limit: IRCC asks for results even if they are expired | canada.ca, citizenship language proof |
| Home Affairs (Australia), the 5 English levels for visas | Yes, CELPIP General at a test centre, for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025 | From an overall 5 (Functional) to 10 / 10 / 12 / 10 (Superior), see the next table | 12 months for Functional English; 3 years for the other 4 levels, depending on the visa subclass | immi.homeaffairs.gov.au |
| Home Affairs, subclass 500 Student visa | Yes, CELPIP General | Overall 7; overall 6 with at least 10 weeks of ELICOS or an eligible foundation or pathway program; overall 5 with at least 20 weeks of ELICOS | Taken in the 2 years before the visa application (or before the decision, if the evidence comes later) | legislation.gov.au, F2025L00906 |
| Ahpra and the National Boards (registration of health practitioners in Australia) | No | Not listed: the accepted tests are Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency, IELTS Academic, OET, PTE Academic and TOEFL iBT | Not applicable to CELPIP | ahpra.gov.au |
CELPIP levels map one-to-one onto the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB): IRCC's equivalency chart puts CELPIP 7 at CLB 7, CELPIP 9 at CLB 9 and so on, in each skill. That is why a CLB requirement in Canada reads directly as a CELPIP score.
Canada: Express Entry and citizenship
IRCC is explicit about which CELPIP it wants: “You must take the CELPIP-General test.” The other approved English tests for Express Entry are IELTS General Training and PTE Core, and whichever you take, the result has to be less than 2 years old both when you create your Express Entry profile and when you submit your application for permanent residence.
Citizenship works differently. Applicants aged 18 to 54 must show listening and speaking at CLB 4 or higher; for CELPIP-G tests taken on or after 1 April 2014, IRCC asks for “4 or higher (up to 12) in listening and speaking”. Reading and writing are not assessed for citizenship, and there is no expiry: IRCC tells applicants to “include a copy of your test results (even if they're expired) with your citizenship application.”
Australia: visas yes — at a test centre, from 7 August 2025
Home Affairs added CELPIP General to its accepted tests for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025. It appears in the score tables for all 5 English levels, and in none of the tables for tests taken on or before 6 August 2025.
| Home Affairs level (tests on or after 7 August 2025) | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Functional English | Overall band of at least 5, no per-skill minimum | — | — | — |
| Vocational English | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Competent English | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Proficient English | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| Superior English | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 |
| Any level, CELPIP taken on or before 6 August 2025 | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed |
The delivery format matters as much as the score. Home Affairs says it “does not accept evidence from English language tests that are delivered completely online”, and CELPIP Online is on its list of excluded versions, alongside IELTS Online, LANGUAGECERT Academic Online, MET Digital (taken at-home), OET@Home and TOEFL iBT – Home Edition. For the test centres in Australia and what each level means in practice, see our guide to CELPIP in Australia: test centres and scores.
The Student visa (subclass 500) has its own legislative instrument, the Migration (English Language Tests and Evidence Exemptions for Subclass 500 (Student) Visas) Instrument 2025, which commenced on 7 August 2025. Its Schedule 1 sets CELPIP General at an overall band score of 7, 6 or 5, depending on how many weeks of ELICOS (English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students) are packaged with your main course.
Where CELPIP is not accepted: Ahpra
If you are a nurse, midwife, doctor, physiotherapist or another registered health practitioner, CELPIP will not get you registered in Australia. Ahpra's list of accepted English tests has 5 entries — Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency, IELTS Academic, OET, PTE Academic and TOEFL iBT — plus NZREX and PLAB for medical practitioners only. CELPIP is not on it. This catches people out, because the same CELPIP result can satisfy Home Affairs for the visa and still leave the registration requirement unmet. The minimum scores for the accepted tests are in our Ahpra English requirements guide.
Who else lists CELPIP
CELPIP's own “Who Accepts CELPIP” page goes wider. For IRCC it also names the Post-Graduation Work Permit, the Start-up Visa Program and various Provincial Nominee Programs. In Australia it names Engineers Australia, CPA Australia, TAFE NSW, TAFE SA and TasTAFE among the organisations that accept the test. These are the test owner's statements, not the organisations' own; we have not checked each organisation's rules, so confirm the version and the score with the body itself before you book.
What this means for you
- Canada only. CELPIP-General covers Express Entry, and if you later apply for citizenship, IRCC accepts the result even after it has expired.
- An Australian visa. CELPIP General works at every English level, provided you sit it at a test centre on or after 7 August 2025. A CELPIP result from before that date is not in the Home Affairs tables.
- Both countries. One CELPIP-General sitting at a centre can serve IRCC and Home Affairs, but the clocks differ: under 2 years for Express Entry, 2 years for a Student visa, 12 months for Functional English and 3 years for the other Australian levels.
- Health registration in Australia. Choose one of Ahpra's accepted tests instead. If you also need a visa, pick a test that is on both lists and check its scores against both.
These are the published rules, not advice on your case. Check your visa eligibility with your own registered migration agent and your registration with Ahpra. For a side-by-side view of every major test, see our hub Best English tests in 2026.
About us
Green School, an online school in Australia (formerly Green English), has prepared students for English exams since 2018 — more than 3,500 students across all exams — and has taught CELPIP since February 2024. We are a Silver member of the CELPIP Network, which is exactly why we flag where CELPIP does not work: for Ahpra registration it is the wrong test, and we would rather you know that before you pay for it.
FAQ
Does Australia accept CELPIP for permanent residency?
Home Affairs accepts CELPIP General as evidence of English for visas, including Competent English (7 in each of the 4 components). It must be taken at a test centre on or after 7 August 2025. How many points your English earns is set on the points table for your visa on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au — check it there.
Can I use CELPIP to register as a nurse in Australia?
No. CELPIP is not on Ahpra's list of accepted English tests. You need Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency, IELTS Academic, OET, PTE Academic or TOEFL iBT.
I took CELPIP in 2024. Can I use it for an Australian visa?
Not according to the Home Affairs tables. CELPIP General appears only in the tables for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025; the tables for earlier tests do not include it.
Is CELPIP Online accepted for an Australian visa?
No. CELPIP Online is on the Home Affairs list of fully online versions it does not accept. Sit CELPIP General at a test centre.
Can the same CELPIP result work for Canada and Australia?
Yes, if it is CELPIP-General taken at a test centre on or after 7 August 2025 and it is recent enough for each purpose: less than 2 years old for Express Entry, within 2 years for a subclass 500 visa, within 12 months for Functional English and within 3 years for the other Australian levels.
Is CELPIP-General LS enough?
Not for Australia: every Home Affairs table needs scores in all 4 components, and LS reports only listening and speaking. For Canadian citizenship, the IRCC page we checked names CELPIP-G and asks only for listening and speaking scores; it does not mention the LS version by name, so confirm with IRCC before you book it.
Sources
- IRCC, Express Entry: language testing — required CELPIP version, results less than 2 years old, minimum CLB for FSW, CEC and FST — canada.ca (checked 23 October 2026)
- IRCC, Express Entry: language test results — CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training, PTE Core — canada.ca (checked 23 October 2026)
- IRCC, Language test equivalency charts — CELPIP-General levels and CLB — canada.ca (checked 23 October 2026)
- IRCC, Language proof for citizenship, step 1 — applicants aged 18 to 54, CLB 4 in speaking and listening — canada.ca (checked 23 October 2026)
- IRCC, Language proof for citizenship, step 2 — CELPIP-G scores, expired results — canada.ca (checked 23 October 2026)
- Department of Home Affairs, English language — accepted tests and excluded online versions — immi.homeaffairs.gov.au (checked 23 October 2026)
- Department of Home Affairs, Functional, Vocational, Competent, Proficient and Superior English — score tables — Functional, Vocational, Competent, Proficient, Superior (checked 23 October 2026)
- Migration (English Language Tests and Evidence Exemptions for Subclass 500 (Student) Visas) Instrument 2025, F2025L00906 — Schedule 1 and section 6 — legislation.gov.au (checked 23 October 2026)
- Ahpra, Accepted English language tests — ahpra.gov.au (checked 23 October 2026)
- CELPIP, Who Accepts CELPIP — celpip.ca (checked 23 October 2026)