Mastering CIPLEA2 Portuguese Test For Golden Visa: Top Tips 2024

Many Portuguese immigration applicants can relate to the challenge of needing to pass the CIPLE A2 Portuguese proficiency test to obtain permanent residency or citizenship. Like many residents, I spent five years in Portugal with linguistic skills that can generously be described as “nascent”, yet I always dreamed of gaining Portuguese nationality. In mid-2024, I officially registered for the A2 Portuguese language exam. Here, I will share the registration process, exam information, CIPLE exam preparation, and mock exam resources, making it easier for fellow applicants to pass the Portuguese A2 level exam. Stick around until the end, as we also provide alternative options for those who struggle with exams to achieve permanent residency, including potential citizenship exam exemptions!

What Is The CIPLE A2 Exam?

The CIPLE A2 is a mandatory proficiency exam for those who are looking to get Portuguese citizenship.  This CIPLE test officiated by the CAPLE – a Portuguese language association. CIPLE A2 stands for “Certificado Inicial de Português Língua Estrangeira”, meaning Initial Certificate of Portuguese as a Foreign Language. This exam primarily assesses whether learners have reached the A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).  This simple CIPLE A2 test evaluates those who become a Portuguese national have a basic abilities in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Portuguese.

What Level Is CIPLE A2 In Portuguese?

Passing the CIPLE A2 Portuguese test demonstrates that the learner has basic Portuguese communication skills. It proves they can understand and use simple Portuguese words and phrases related to everyday life, such as describing personal background and familiar surroundings. This includes routine activities like shopping, reading menus, asking for directions, and engaging in simple conversations. Achieving this level is a crucial starting point for learning Portuguese and is considered the language threshold for Portuguese citizenship.

Registering for the CIPLE A2 Portuguese Exam

The CIPLE A2 Portuguese test has a registration fee of €79, and candidates can sign up online. This exam is available at various test centers worldwide, allowing international candidates to choose a convenient location.  Based on my personal experience, the online registration process begins in January, and test slots in Portugal get fill up quickly, and by May, the only test slots available were in November.

Pro Tips for Registration

Take your test well in advance to avoid last-minute stress. Reserve some time for your citizenship application and any chance to retake the exam. The CIPLE exam doesn’t expire and is valid for life,  so take it as early as possible.

CIPLE A2 Exam Structure

After registering, you will received an email detailing the exam structure which is divided into 3 components:

	Sections	Duration	Score
Reading and Written Production	Section One: Read short texts and answer multiple choices   Section two: Write short messages	1 hour 15 minutes.	45%
Listening Comprehension	Listen audio and complete multiple choices	30 minutes	30%
Oral Interaction	Including three parts :  Interaction with  examiner and other candidates respectively	15 minutes	25%

Passing Score for the CIPLE A2 Exam

As a candidate, You are better to understand the passing threshold for the CIPLE A2 Portuguese test. The passing score is determined by calculating the weighted scores of each section of the exam. To pass, you need to achieve a minimum of 55%!

Grading Scale:

• “Muito Bom” (Excellent Rating): Scores between 85% and 100%.
• “Bom” (Good Rating): Scores between 70% and 84%.
• “Suficiente” (Sufficient Rating): Scores between 55% and 69%. Candidates who achieve this rating or higher are considered to have passed the exam.

My Portuguese Level

If your knowledge of Portuguese is limited, you might find my struggle relatable:

After finishing my A1 level course, I didn’t do any further studying of Portuguese. People say you’ll become fluent quickly if you live in the country, right? Nope! I’ve been in Portugal for over five years, but my Portuguese is still pretty unimpressive. Here are my excuses:

1. I’ve been out of the country for over a year during this time.
2. The pandemic kept me from going out and practicing Portuguese.
3. I don’t need Portuguese for work.
4. Native speakers talk so fast and often eat their words, making it hard to understand.
5. Many Portuguese people are fluent in English and switch to it when I try speaking Portuguese.
6. My pronunciation is off, which makes it hard for them to understand me.

My main expertise in Portuguese is… food. I can confidently read menus, know most of the names of fruits, veggies, and meats, and navigate the supermarket. Besides that, I can tell a delivery driver I’m not home and ask them to come back the next day. This is exactly how I began my journey with the Portuguese language.

My A2 exam preparation

I had three months to prepare after registering for the exam. I bought an A1/A2 book but couldn’t get past the fourth lesson due to my own laziness and lack of discipline.

With the exam just a month away, I knew I couldn’t do it alone. So, I signed up for one-on-one online classes, spending five hours a week with a private tutor. I also started studying on weekends and tried to speak Portuguese whenever I could.  In those three weeks, I spoke more Portuguese than I had in five years, and my skills improved significantly. Given the limited time, my teacher and I focused on mock exams. Remember, you only need 55% to pass, so we didn’t really touch on verb conjugation.

The first time I took a mock exam, I was shocked at how much I didn’t know and panicked. Thankfully, within just a few weeks, my Portuguese had improved to a level where I felt I could probably pass the exam.

After having tried in-person group class and private online class, I think the latter is superior.  The most noticeable difference would be on oral expression.  My teacher would correct my pronunciation right away.  If I had taken private lessons in the beginning, maybe I wouldn’t have so much trouble being understood by the local as my pronunciation was really bad. Personally, I think private lessons move at a much quicker pace because they’re so interactive. It’s not just sitting and listening like in a group class. So, a 1.5-hour private lesson ends up being more intense (and yes, more exhausting) than a 3-hour group class.

Pro Tips for online course

I recommend trying private lessons, but keep them to no more than 1.5 hours each.

A2 Exam Preparation Resource Sharing

Official Link for Mock Exams

• Reading & Writing : Reading Comprehension and Written Expression
• Oral Comprehension: Answer sheet; Audios, Answer Keys

Online Learning Resources

• Practice Portuguese : A helpful podcast/YouTube channel on improving your listening skills.  Episodes are labeled with the appropriate level of A1 – B2. Paid options include transcripts and grammar lessons.  Download their app on your phone/ ipad.
• Easytalk: One-on-one classes costing €22-30 per hour.
• Infopedia: On verb conjugation

Other Exam related information

• For more information about the CIPLE , please see the LAPE-FLUL page.
• For CAPLE exam rules, please see CAPLE rules page.
• For videos and interactive tests explaining the CIPLE exam, please click HERE.

Exam Exemption With A Recognized A2 Course

If taking the exam doesn’t sound appealing, you can present a recognized A2 course certificate instead. Finding a recognized course outside Portugal can be tricky, but we’ve found one for you. This program offers 150 hours of lessons for a combined A1 and A2 levels. It’s an online course, so you can take it anywhere in the world. They offer group classes (with groups of 6) or private classes (great for the whole family to study together at their own pace).

Completing this 150-hour course exempts you from having to take the A2 level exam.

The Golden Portugal clientsnow get an exclusive 5% discount—just one of the many perks for our clients!  Contact us if you’d like more details.

To Be Continued…

Stay tuned for the next article, where I’ll share details of my exam experience to give you a closer look!

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