- The short answer
- CELPIP General: four components
- CELPIP General-LS: two components
- Side by side
- Australia: only General counts
- Canada: PR vs citizenship
- Which test to book
- What scores are worth in Canada
The short answer
CELPIP General measures all four skills — Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking — and is the version used for Canadian permanent residence and for Australian visas. CELPIP General-LS measures Listening and Speaking only, and exists so citizenship applicants can evidence the two abilities that requirement covers.
That structural difference settles nearly every question:
- Australia: CELPIP General only — DHA defines every English level across four components.
- Canadian citizenship: General-LS is enough, and it costs less.
- Canadian permanent residence: CELPIP General — every Express Entry program sets a minimum in all four abilities.
- Unsure: CELPIP General, because it covers everything General-LS covers and more.
A two-component test cannot be stretched into a four-component requirement.
CELPIP General: four components
CELPIP General runs as a single sitting of about three hours, with no separate speaking appointment and no human examiner.
| Component | Structure | Scored items | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | 6 parts | 38 questions | 47–55 min |
| Reading | 4 parts | 38 questions | 55–60 min |
| Writing | 2 tasks — an email, and a survey response | 2 tasks | 53–60 min |
| Speaking | 8 tasks, recorded | 8 tasks | 15–20 min |
Listening's six parts run from Problem Solving to Viewpoints and Reading's four from Correspondence to Viewpoints; Speaking's eight recorded tasks run from Giving Advice to Describing an Unusual Situation. Unscored content can appear anywhere in Listening and Reading and looks identical to the scored material, so treat every question as though it counts. Results are released online in 8 business days, or 3 business days with express rating. Part-by-part detail sits on the CELPIP test format page.
CELPIP General-LS: two components
General-LS drops Reading and Writing. You sit Listening and Speaking and receive two scores instead of four. It exists for Canadian citizenship applications, which evidence listening and speaking rather than a full four-skill profile.
The fee makes it look like a shortcut. On the 2025 CELPIP guidebook schedule, CELPIP General costs $290 plus tax and CELPIP General-LS costs $195 plus tax. But General-LS contributes nothing to Express Entry and DHA does not accept it for Australian visas, so the saving only holds if citizenship is the end goal. Confirm current fees on celpip.ca.
Side by side
| CELPIP General | CELPIP General-LS | |
|---|---|---|
| Components | 4 — Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking | 2 — Listening, Speaking |
| Fee (2025 schedule) | $290 + tax | $195 + tax |
| Results | Online in 8 business days; 3 with express rating | Confirm on celpip.ca |
| Citizenship evidence | Includes the two abilities that requirement covers | Purpose-built for citizenship |
| Canadian permanent residence | Yes — the version IRCC-designated for Express Entry and PNPs | No — no reading or writing scores |
| Australian visas | Yes — accepted by DHA (centre-based tests) | No — DHA requires all four components |
CELPIP's 1–12 scale maps 1:1 to the CLB scale per ability — CELPIP 7 is CLB 7, 9 is 9, and 10 or above is CLB 10 — with no averaging, so your weakest component sets the level you can claim. See the CLB score guide.
Australia: only General counts
DHA added CELPIP General to its accepted English tests on 7 August 2025. Every Australian level is defined across four components, which is why the two-skill General-LS cannot satisfy one:
| DHA English level | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking | Points (skilled visas) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superior English | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | +20 |
| Proficient English | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | +10 |
| Competent English | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 (eligibility floor) |
| Vocational English | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
- Functional English differs: an overall band score of at least 5.
- Competent English (7/7/7/7) is the floor for points-tested subclasses 189, 190 and 491. Proficient adds +10 points, Superior +20.
- Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate): CELPIP General overall level 8, at least 6 in each component, tests on or after 7 August 2025.
- Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand, Core Skills): minimum 5 in each component, tests on or after 13 September 2025.
CELPIP Online is not accepted for Australian visas. DHA excludes online and at-home tests, naming CELPIP Online alongside IELTS Online, LANGUAGECERT Academic Online, MET Digital (at-home), OET@Home and TOEFL iBT Home Edition. Sit CELPIP General at a secure test centre; nursing registration is a separate question (CELPIP vs CELBAN for nurses), and the DHA guide breaks requirements down by subclass. Tests taken on or before 6 August 2025 may remain usable depending on the subclass until 6 August 2028.
Canada: PR vs citizenship
CELPIP General is IRCC-designated for Canadian immigration; General-LS serves citizenship. Permanent residence is assessed per ability across all four skills:
| Canadian pathway | Minimum language level | In CELPIP General terms |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) | CLB 7 in all four abilities | CELPIP 7 in each of the four skills |
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | TEER 0/1: CLB 7 · TEER 2/3: CLB 5 | CELPIP 7 or 5 per ability, depending on TEER |
| Federal Skilled Trades (FST) | CLB 5 speaking and listening · CLB 4 reading and writing | CELPIP 5/5/4/4 for speaking, listening, reading, writing |
Every row sets a minimum in all four abilities — FST relaxes reading and writing to CLB 4, but those scores must still exist. A General-LS report has no reading or writing results, so it cannot support an Express Entry profile. IRCC also requires Express Entry results to be less than 2 years old both when you complete your profile and when you apply for PR; CELPIP scores carry 2-year validity.
Which test to book
| Your situation | Book this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Australian visa (any subclass needing English) | CELPIP General | DHA defines every level in four components, so a two-skill test cannot qualify. |
| Canadian citizenship | CELPIP General-LS | Citizenship evidence covers listening and speaking, at the lower fee. |
| Canadian permanent residence (Express Entry, PNP) | CELPIP General | FSW, CEC and FST all set minimums in all four abilities. |
| Both Canada and Australia | CELPIP General | One result serves IRCC and DHA while it is still valid. |
| Not sure yet | CELPIP General | It reports all four abilities, so it covers everything General-LS covers and more. |
What scores are worth in Canada
For Canada, the reason to sit CELPIP General rather than General-LS becomes arithmetic. CRS scores language per ability on the first official language:
| CLB per ability | Points with a spouse | Points without a spouse |
|---|---|---|
| Below 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 4–5 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | 8 | 9 |
| 7 | 16 | 17 |
| 8 | 22 | 23 |
| 9 | 29 | 31 |
| 10 or more | 32 | 34 |
| Maximum across four abilities | 128 | 136 |
Every row needs a score in each of the four abilities, with no averaging — which is why General-LS cannot be used for a PR application. CRS also scores a second official language per ability (CLB 5–6 = 1 point, 7–8 = 3, 9 or more = 6, capping at 22 points with a spouse and 24 without), and job-offer points were removed from CRS on 25 March 2025. On the FSW selection grid, first-language ability is worth 4 points at CLB 7, 5 at CLB 8 and 6 at CLB 9 or more, up to 24, plus 4 if a second official language reaches CLB 5 in all four. Model your own profile with the CELPIP → CLB → CRS calculator.
Sources
Format, part counts, timings and fees come from CELPIP's Guidebook for Test Takers and celpip.ca; Canadian program minimums and CRS tables from IRCC on canada.ca; Australian levels, subclasses and the online-test exclusion from DHA at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. PrepSettle is an independent practice site, not affiliated with Paragon Testing Enterprises, CELPIP, IRCC or DHA — if anything here conflicts with an official page, the official page wins. Practise the four-skill format with our free CELPIP General practice tests.
Last reviewed: 29 September 2026.