Canada immigration: How better knowledge of English, French ensures better earning
1 min read . Updated: 04 Feb 2023, 08:05 PM IST
Premium- Knowing either English or French as an immigrant with visa or with Permanent Residency in Canada will definitely ensure better long-term, mid-term and short-term understanding
Canada immigration update: Canadian immigration authorities have released data that confirms that with improved efficiency in either or both of the official languages (French, English) has had more chances of securing a permanent residency or visa in the country.
Although most recent immigrants (69.4%) reported non-official languages as their mother tongue, 92.7% of people in this group self-reported being able to conversate in one of Canada’s two official languages, according to CIC news.
Here is a detailed understanding of the importance of official language proficiency in Canada for immigrants
Official Languages of Canada: Under the Official Languages Act of 1969, both English and French have official status throughout Canada in respect of federal government services
Why should you know both or either languages?
The emphasis placed on official language proficiency by the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) when scoring Express Entry candidates is evidence of the importance of official language proficiency.
As one of the primary methods of immigration, Canada prioritizes the ability of Express Entry hopefuls to speak, conversate, read and write in English and/or French.
In fact, CRS scoring provides a maximum of 320 (with spouse/partner) or 310 (without spouse/partner) points to Express Entry applicants for first official language proficiency. This means that the ability to speak one of Canada’s official languages can significantly impact one’s CRS score.
Impact of official language proficiency for Canada immigrants
Better earning prospect: In the first one to two years of immigrating to Canada, StatsCan research indicates that “those who had a non-official language as their mother tongue (but who spoke English) earned 29% less than" native English or French speakers.
This would suggest that with better official language proficiency, recent immigrants between 2016 and 2021 are positioned to experience higher earnings than those who cannot conversate in English or French.
The same is true in the medium-term (five to six years after immigration) and long-term (10 to 11 years after immigrating to Canada), according to StatsCan. Research participants with either of Canada’s official languages as a mother tongue experienced 42% higher earnings in the medium-term window than non-native speakers and long-term earnings were 35% higher for those more adept in English or French.
