Which French test do you need for Canada PR?

Which French tests IRCC accepts for Canada PR

IRCC accepts these French tests for immigration: TEF Canada and TCF Canada. This site prepares you for TCF Canada, a test run by France Éducation international.

IRCC accepts TCF Canada results in permanent residence and citizenship applications.

TCF Canada always includes all four sections: Compréhension orale (listening), Compréhension écrite (reading), Expression écrite (writing) and Expression orale (speaking). You cannot skip one, and each gets its own score and its own NCLC level.

If you come across other tests with TCF in their name, book only the one called exactly TCF Canada: that is the name on IRCC’s list.

Booking, fees and test-day rules are on France Éducation international’s site. IRCC publishes the scores each accepted test needs for each level in its test equivalency charts.

TCF Canada points for Express Entry

Express Entry ranks candidates with Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points. Your French results count in three ways, depending on whether French is your first or your second official language:

• As your first official language: up to 34 points per skill if you are single, 32 with a spouse or partner.
• As your second official language, next to an English test result: up to 6 points per skill, capped at 24 in total (22 with a spouse or partner).
• Through the French bonus, once all four skills reach NCLC 7: 25 points, or 50 if you also have CLB 5 or higher in all four English skills.

These figures come from IRCC’s CRS criteria (page modified 22 June 2026). They are for information only, not immigration advice. Our French bonus points calculator works out the total for your own profile.

TCF Canada score for Express Entry

Express Entry works with NCLC levels, not with TCF Canada scores directly: IRCC converts each section on its own. For example, NCLC 7 starts at 458 in listening and at 10 out of 20 in writing. Our TCF Canada score chart gives every level for all four sections, and the NCLC 7 page details the level French-language draws ask for.

If you already have scores, official or from practice, enter them below to see your NCLC level in each section. Our free listening and reading series give a practice estimate with a range, not an official score.

Is there a minimum French test score for Canada PR?

There is no single minimum. Each immigration program sets its own minimum NCLC level, published on its page of IRCC’s website, and your TCF Canada target follows from that level, one section at a time.

1. 1

   Find your program’s level

   IRCC states it as an NCLC or CLB level, not as a test score.

2. 2

   Turn it into scores

   Use the score chart or the converter above: each section has its own range.

3. 3

   Treat it as a floor

   The minimum only makes you eligible. Above it, each level adds CRS points, and NCLC 7 in all four skills adds the French bonus and access to French-language draws.

How to choose your target level

Start from what you want French to do for your profile:

• To meet a program minimum: aim one level above it, so that a weaker day in one section still clears it.
• For French-language draws or the French bonus: aim for NCLC 7 in every section. A single section at NCLC 6 rules both out.
• For the most second-language points: aim for NCLC 9 everywhere. French then earns 6 points per skill, the most a second official language can.
• If French is your first official language: each level earns far more points there than as a second language, so the higher rows of the score chart repay the effort.

Then set that target against your current results, section by section, and give most of your study time to the section furthest below it. Points here are for information only, not immigration advice.

Plan your test date around your profile

TCF Canada results are valid for 2 years, so plan your test date around when you will create or update your Express Entry profile. Work backwards from that date:

1. 1

   Measure your level now

   Take our free listening and reading series and convert the estimates. Book only when the low end of each estimate reaches your target.

2. 2

   Count your preparation weeks

   If a section is one or two levels short, plan for weeks of work, not days. Our guide to preparing for TCF Canada has 8-week and 4-week plans.

3. 3

   Allow for results and a second attempt

   Check on France Éducation international’s site how long results take, and leave enough time to sit the test again if one section falls short of your target.

How to prepare for your French test for Canada PR

Prepare for the format as well as for the language: every section is timed, and the writing and speaking tasks have set lengths.

• Writing: 60 minutes for three texts of 60–120, 120–150 and 120–180 words; stay inside each range. Our writing Task 2 guide shows one prompt answered at several levels.
• Speaking: 12 minutes with an examiner, in three tasks of 2 min, 3 min 30 and 4 min 30; only task 2 comes with preparation time (2 min). Record yourself and keep talking for the full time.
• Listening and reading: 39 questions each, in 35 and 60 minutes, and each recording plays only once.