A friend of mine messaged me in a panic last year. She had just got a conditional offer from a college in Ontario. Tuition was sorted. Her savings looked good enough for the visa officer. Then she saw “IELTS Academic, 6.0 minimum” on her checklist and froze. She had taken IELTS once before and hated it. She almost dropped the whole plan because of it.
I spent a weekend digging into this with her. We called a couple of admissions offices and compared what actually worked with what random Facebook groups were saying. So this isn’t theory. This is what we found out the hard way, plus what has changed since then.
First, let’s clear up a mix-up
A lot of people think “study permit” and “IELTS” are tied together by law. They’re not. Canada’s immigration department, IRCC, does not have one fixed rule saying every study permit applicant needs an IELTS score. What they want to see is proof that you got into a Designated Learning Institution, that you can pay for yourself, and that you really plan to study, not just find a back door into the country.
The English test is mostly something your school asks for, not the visa office. If your school is happy with your English level, the visa officer usually just wants to see that acceptance letter. They won’t ask about language again unless something else in your file looks off. You can read the full requirements on the official study in Canada page.
One thing worth knowing. Canada used to run a program called the Student Direct Stream, or SDS. It gave faster processing but forced you to get an IELTS Academic score of 6.0 in every part, no way around it. That program was shut down in November 2024. So if you’re reading old blog posts or watching old YouTube videos about SDS as a shortcut, skip that part. It doesn’t exist anymore. Everyone now goes through the regular study permit stream. It takes longer, around 8 to 12 weeks instead of the old 20-day SDS promise, but it doesn’t lock you into IELTS.
What you can use instead of IELTS
This part is easier than people think. Most Canadian colleges and universities will take one of these instead:
- Duolingo English Test (DET): this is the one my friend used. You take it at home on your laptop with your webcam on. It costs around 50 USD and results come back in about 48 hours. You can send your score to as many schools as you want for free. You can sign up on the official Duolingo English Test site. Schools like University of Alberta, University of Calgary, Dalhousie, and Concordia accept it, usually somewhere between 105 and 125 depending on the program.
- TOEFL iBT: accepted almost everywhere, usually needs around 80 to 90 overall.
- PTE Academic: another test you take on a computer, also fast to get results back.
- MOI letter (Medium of Instruction): if your whole schooling, high school or bachelor’s, was taught in English, your old school can write a letter saying so. Schools like University of Saskatchewan and Brock University sometimes take this instead of a test, but often with a few conditions attached.
- CAEL, CanTEST, MELAB, Cambridge C1 Advanced: less common, but some schools like University of Regina or Memorial University take these.
- Conditional admission with an English course: the school lets you in, but you take an English program first before you start your real classes.
None of this is some secret trick. These are normal options listed right on most university websites. The catch is that each school treats them a bit differently, so what worked for one program might not work for another. Always double-check the school you want against the government’s DLI list first, since only DLIs can host international students.
What we actually did, step by step
Step 1: Pick your English test before you pick a school. We got this backwards at first. She shortlisted colleges she liked, then found out half of them only take IELTS or TOEFL, not Duolingo. Doing it the wrong way around cost us extra weeks.
Step 2: Check the actual program page, not a random blog. A lot of “top schools without IELTS” lists online are old or too general. Engineering and nursing programs, for example, often ask for stronger English proof than a general arts diploma at the same school.
Step 3: Take the test early. Duolingo lets you retake it every 21 days, which sounds easy, but don’t wait until three weeks before your deadline. She took hers two months early, just to leave room for a retake if her first score came back low.
Step 4: Apply and wait for your unconditional Letter of Acceptance (LOA). This is the most important paper in your visa file. A conditional LOA that still needs an English test cleared can slow down or complicate your study permit, so try to clear every condition before you apply for the permit.
Step 5: Get your Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL). Since the provincial caps started, most study permit applications also need this letter from the province where your school is. Your school’s international office usually issues it, but you have to ask, it doesn’t just appear on its own. You can check the current PAL upload rules on the official study permit application page.
Step 6: Apply for the study permit. You’ll need financial proof, your LOA, your PAL, your passport, and a clear letter explaining why you want to study this program at this school. Since IELTS isn’t forced on you here, this letter and your financial proof matter even more than they did under the old SDS system.
Yes, you can still get scholarships without IELTS
People assume scholarships need IELTS because the checklist usually says “English proof required.” What they really mean is any proof, not IELTS specifically. Merit-based scholarships from the school itself usually look at your grades, your activities, and sometimes an essay, not your test score.
A few good places to check: entrance scholarships that some schools give automatically based on your grades, provincial scholarships tied to specific colleges, and the EduCanada scholarship listings, which is the government’s own page for funding aimed at international students. If Duolingo or an MOI letter got you in, that same paper usually works for the scholarship too, since it’s often the same office checking both. The full EduCanada site is also worth a look for comparing programs and costs.
Mistakes people make (us too)
Thinking every school treats “no IELTS” the same way. They don’t. Some drop it completely, others just swap it for a different but equally strict test.
Forgetting about the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) rule. This one caught us off guard. Duolingo gets you admitted, but it won’t work for PGWP or Express Entry later. If you plan to work in Canada after you graduate, you’ll need IELTS General, CELPIP, PTE Core, TEF, or TCF for that step. This is explained on the official PGWP page. You can check the exact score you need on the language score lookup tool. Almost nobody mentions this early enough, so it surprises people in their last year.
Trusting only an MOI letter with nothing else. A visa officer might see an MOI letter as weaker than a real test score, especially if your country doesn’t teach fully in English. It’s not an automatic rejection, but it’s a riskier bet.
Waiting too long to apply. Since SDS is gone, processing now takes 8 to 12 weeks instead of the old 20-day fast track. Try to apply at least four months before your intake.
Was all this extra work worth it?
My friend got into her program with a Duolingo score, an unconditional LOA, and a study permit that came through in about ten weeks. No IELTS stress, no retaking a test she hated. It just took more homework upfront instead of assuming one path works for everyone.
If you’re stuck in the same spot right now, ignore any 2023 advice that still talks about SDS or a guaranteed 20-day permit. That’s gone. What’s left is a slower path, but a more open one, as long as you check each school’s real rules instead of trusting a random list you found online.