My Journey to Taking the CIPLE Exam as a Portugal Golden Visa Holder

Hello everyone! I recently took the CIPLE exam, and I wanted to share my journey and some tips for anyone preparing for it. I hope this helps!

Why I Took the CIPLE Exam

I prepared for CIPLE because I have a Portugal Golden Visa, and I’ll eventually need to pass this exam for citizenship. Although I still have time before I can apply, I decided to take the test early so I’d have time to retake it if needed.

Where I’m From

I live in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, but I’ve been to Portugal several times to meet the residency requirements (14 days per 2 years) and handle visa-related tasks.

My Study Structure

  1. Starting A1: I began with an e-learning course from the Camoes Institute in November 2023. Although I initially completed only 6 out of 12 lessons due to work priorities, I returned to finish the course in May 2024.
  2. A2 Level Course: Right after, I completed the A2 course from the Camoes Institute in 45 days, studying more intensively this time.
  3. Exam Preparation: To get familiar with the exam structure, I searched for videos on YouTube and other resources like Practice Portuguese.
  4. Listening Practice: I used Practice Portuguese and some news websites to improve my listening comprehension.
  5. Writing Practice:ChatGPT helped me work on writing skills and expand my vocabulary for the exam.
  6. Speaking Practice: I took 3 intensive lessons with a tutor on Italki, which really boosted my speaking confidence.
  7. Mock Exams: About two weeks before the exam, I focused on mock exams to sharpen my test-taking skills.
  8. Summaries: I created summaries for each exam section with help from ChatGPT and my tutor, which helped me memorize key points.

Exam Experience

Location: I took the exam in Padua, Italy, since I couldn’t find an open slot in Ankara or Portugal. Luckily, I loved Padua, and the exam location and examiners were all fantastic!

Speaking Part: Scheduled for 10:30 am, I arrived 45 minutes early. A friendly Brazilian administrator welcomed me and checked my ID. I was paired with a Russian lady for the speaking part, who was living in Portugal and seemed at ease speaking Portuguese. I, on the other hand, was a bit nervous!

In the first part, the examiner asked us questions like our names, ages, and descriptions of our homes and hobbies. I was nervous but well-prepared, so I felt confident in my answers.

The second part involved describing a family photo (mother, two sons, a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter) having lunch. They gave me one minute to jot down notes. I described everyone except the granddaughter (oops!). The examiner prompted me, but I couldn’t recall it under pressure.

In the final part, we were shown pictures of five professions (doctor, teacher, firefighter, driver, chef) and asked to describe them, then choose one and explain why. I felt familiar with these professions and was able to engage well in this part. Overall, the examiners were very kind and made an effort to keep us calm.

Reading/Writing/Listening: In the afternoon, we moved to a nearby location for the other parts. The exam started exactly at 3:00 pm. The format was similar to the mock exams I’d practiced, with the listening part being the hardest. I guessed most of the answers—fingers crossed!

The results will be published on January 9, 2025. Here’s hoping I passed!

If anyone has questions or needs advice, feel free to reach out. Good luck to everyone preparing!

6 Likes

Thank you so much for this very helpful summary. I keep looking for an open slot to sign up for the exam…is there a certain date when exam dates will be open for 2025? Maybe I need to start looking to take it in another country, like you did, although I’ve been living in the Algarve for three years and would rather take it here!

Good luck on the results; fingers crossed that you passed!

Hi @janicewoodar,

Thank you for your reply, appreciate it.

The exam calendar will be pubished by the end of December or early January as per CAPLE website, and the slots will be available for booking early January:

Wish you best of luck :crossed_fingers:

1 Like

Thanks Salman and congrats ! :+1::slightly_smiling_face:
Sounds like you are going to score high.

and

Obrigado pelos todos tipos e explanações. Vão fazer aprender Português muito mais fácil para mim!

Not sure if this is correct as I am still few lessons away from completing A1 with Practice Portuguese

Good luck on your journey, wherever you go !

Filip

Hi Filip,

Thank you very much! I hope that I can pass the exam but I’m not quite sure especially the listening part was very challenging!

Your sentence looks clear and understood but needs some corrections :slight_smile: “ Obrigado por todos os tipos e explicações. Vão tornar o aprendizado de Português muito mais fácil para mim!”
Well done :clap:

I wish you best of luck and if you need my help don’t hesitate to let me know.

Salman

Hi Salman! I took the exam in Rome on Nov 14 as well. I think it was exactly the same as I had the same pictures to describe for the oral part. The listening part was very challenging indeed. I took a lot of wild guesses on this one :slight_smile: Fingers crossed we both pass. Good luck!

Hi @roydaniel, thank you for reaching out.

Yes, it was the same since we took it on the same day.

Fingers crossed and best of luck!

Hi Janice, we took our Ciple in Leiria along with many people from Lisbon and a few from the Algarve as they also had difficulty scheduling exams in their region. Leiria is a lovely place, so you could just make a mini-vacation out of the trip. Openings are posted on the Caple website. https://caple.letras.ulisboa.pt/exames
Although I don’t see any for 2025 yet -
Our experience was very similar to @Salman.Sulaiman , I was initially quite confident about the listening comprehension as I’d been doing well with B1 shorties, but left the exam less so - definitely the most difficult part! I would compare it to turning on the radio in your car with the windows rolled down while driving at 70kph and trying to understand a random conversation on a talk radio station. Otherwise, I think we rocked it!
Hope that helps, and thanks @Salman.Sulaiman for sharing, you saved me the work.

3 Likes

It seems that I, and everyone I have heard of, says the listening part of the CIPLE was incredibly difficult no mater which center they attended. I agree that even the B1 shorties are easy in comparison to the test. (I took the exam last May and passed, barely.)

2 Likes