Can students from South Korea use the Duolingo English Test for Canada?

DET acceptance depends on the Canada university, not your nationality. This page pairs Canada's requirements with practical notes for applicants from South Korea.

Your corridor

🇨🇦 Duolingo English Test for Canada — from South Korea

More than 400 Canadian universities and colleges accept the DET, including every English-speaking U15 research university.

What Canada asks for

Scores run on the 10–160 scale; there is no single national minimum — each university and program sets its own.

Admission is not the same as the visa

Canada ended the Student Direct Stream (SDS) on 8 November 2024, which used to require IELTS specifically — so older guides are out of date. Today everyone uses the regular study-permit process: if a Canadian university accepts your DET and issues a Letter of Acceptance (LOA), that's generally sufficient for the permit. Note: Permanent Residency later requires an approved immigration test (IELTS General or CELPIP) — the DET is not used for PR.

From South Korea — the essentials

Costs in: South Korean Won (₩)
Credentials: Korean Council for University Education (KCUE); NIIED administers government study-abroad selection
Funding to search: Kwanjeong Educational Foundation Scholarship, NIIED Korean Government overseas study, Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS), Fulbright Korea
Where students go: United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom
Apply from: Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daejeon

English-taught programmes need Duolingo English Test/IELTS; Korean applicants overwhelmingly take the Duolingo English Test iBT, often through dedicated prep academies. At about $70 the DET is taken online from South Korea — no test-centre travel, and far cheaper than IELTS.

Plan the rest of your move for Canada

AlmiStudy

Find universities and the subjects they teach, by country.

AlmiPrep

Preparing for IELTS instead? Practice all four skills with honest feedback.

Practice the DET

Try AlmiDET practice tasks on the real 10–160 scale with honest AI feedback.

Practice on the real 10–160 scale

Honest AI feedback, no inflated numbers.

Start practising

The Shamool pledge

AlmiDET is part of the AlmiWorld family. 25% of our sales go to the Shamool Foundation to support students who cannot afford fees and tests — so the work you do here helps fund a place for someone else.

AlmiDET is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Duolingo. All practice material is original and never copied from the Duolingo English Test. Acceptance figures and score bands change — always confirm the current requirement on the official university or government page before you rely on it.