Language Requirements for Permanent Residency and Citizenship in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Singapore
I've written about language requirements for permanent residency (PR) and naturalization in popular European destinations and East Asia. Today we're looking at another group of high immigration countries in Oceania and SE Asia: Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Singapore.
Like in East Asia, there are no standardized CEFR requirements in these countries. However, Australia and New Zealand require English, so they use tests that many should be familiar with.
| Country | PR Requirement | Citizenship Requirement^(1) |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | None^(2) | None^(3) |
| Thailand^(4) | Functional Thai | Functional Thai |
| Australia | IELTS 6.0+ or equivalent (varies by visa pathway)^(5) | IELTS 6.0+ or equivalent^(6) |
| New Zealand | IELTS 4.0-6.5 or equivalent (varies by visa pathway)^(7) | Basic conversational English^(8) |
- This table assumes you're a foreign-born expatriate that qualifies for naturalization. Exceptions for asylum seekers or other unique cases may exist.
- Singapore assesses PR applications based on factors such as family ties, economic contributions, qualifications, age, and length of residency, but has no formal language test requirement.
- Singapore citizenship applications are evaluated on similar merit-based criteria with no mandatory language test, though completion of the Singapore Citizenship Journey is required.
- Thailand requires applicants to pass a Thai language test via interview for both PR and naturalization, though the exact requirements seem to vary, with reports of candidates being asked to sing the national anthem, display day 2 day proficiency, etc. As of this writing, there does not seem to be a published test with an official framework.
- Australia's English requirements vary by visa subclass, with accepted tests including IELTS, PTE, Cambridge English, OET, and TOEFL iBT. 6.0 is the minimum required level for most permanent residency routes.
- For citizenship, Australia requires IELTS 6.0+ or equivalent as they deem this level necessary to sit for the citizenship test.
- New Zealand's English requirements vary by visa subclass, but most pathways range from IELTS 4.0 - 6.5 or equivalent.
- New Zealand citizenship requirement requires the ability to hold a basic conversation in English but does not list a specific IELTS score.
What stands out to me
- Singapore takes a merit-based approach that is more about contributions than language.
- Thailand has recently updated language requirements for both PR and citizenship -- I highly suggest consulting an immigration lawyer with on-the-ground knowledge of what people are experiencing in interviews.
- Australia and New Zealand follow similar English-proficiency models but with different threshold requirements.