A member's TR-to-PR application, submitted years earlier, received a request for updated documents including a new IELTS/CELPIP result — but their original IELTS (taken in 2021) had since expired (language tests are valid for 2 years).
What the thread suggested:- Submit your current (even if technically "expired" by today's date) IELTS results along with a Letter of Explanation stating it was valid when the application was originally submitted — the delay is on IRCC's side, not something you should be penalized for.
- Language test scores are generally understood to lock in at AOR (Acknowledgement of Receipt) — so even if 2 years have since passed while the file was sitting with IRCC, the original test should still be treated as valid for that application.
- A member described exactly this scenario resolving successfully: they wrote an LOE explaining the 2018 IELTS was submitted with a 2018 Express Entry application that IRCC didn't process until 2021, and it was accepted without requiring a new test.
Takeaway: if IRCC asks for a "new" language test purely because years have passed during their own processing delay, don't panic — resubmit what you have with a clear LOE explaining it was valid at submission, since precedent in this thread suggests this is commonly accepted.