Christopher C. Stacy wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" writes:

The instruction "Cleared for the ILS runway 23 at Foobar maintain 2000 until established"
contains "cleared", a route (which is even a charted IFR procedure), an altitude,
and a clearance limit (landing Foobar airport, or executing the published missed
approach procedure). How is that not an IFR clearance?

I think it is, unless the controller adds the words "maintain VFR".
When I want a practice approach and the controller fails to say "VFR",
I add it back in to try and make sure, like:
"Cherokee 97R cleared for the ILS 29 maintain VFR".

No, to be IFR you must have a clearance limit. The clearance must clear
you to some specific thing (like an intersection or most commonly, a
destination).
So a common popup IFR approach clearance sounds like...
"Cleared to the Foobar airport via radar vectors, fly heading 123,
maintain 2000 until established cleared for the ILS runway 22 foobar".
(Notice the "cleared to Foobar airport at the begining showing its an
IFR clearance.

-Robert, CFII