The TOEFL test will now be accepted for use in Student Direct Stream (SDS), according to Educational Testing Service (ETS). The SDS is an expedited study permit processing programme for international students who plan to enrol in one of nation's post-secondary designated learning institutions. The test has been approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Canada will also start accepting the PTE Academic test for Student Direct Stream applications. "Not only will the addition of TOEFL benefit the hundreds of thousands of students who take advantage of the SDS route each year, but institutions can feel confident knowing that they can access a wider pool of applicants who can demonstrate their skills with the premier test of English-language proficiency," Rohit Sharma, Senior Vice President of Global Higher Education and Workskills at ETS. Students can begin sending Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) iBT scores as part of their SDS application beginning August 10, 2023. The SDS is available for students applying from Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam. ETS, which conducts TOEFL and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), last month announced a series of changes in the English language proficiency test to create an optimal experience for those taking it. The changes will be effective from July 26. TOEFL is welcomed by more than 12,000 institutions in over 160 countries and is universally accepted in popular destinations such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and by over 98 per cent of universities in the UK.