Which French test do you need for Canada? The two IRCC accepts, and how to choose

Most people start this search with the wrong question. They look for a French exam, find half a dozen respected ones, and pick the one with the best reputation. For a Canadian immigration application that reasoning does not hold, because reputation is not the filter. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada accepts exactly two French tests, and everything else, however well regarded, does not count.

The two tests Canada accepts

For economic immigration, the accepted French tests are the TEF Canada, run by the CCI Paris Île-de-France, and the TCF Canada, run by France Éducation International. That is the whole list. Both are four-part exams covering listening, reading, speaking and writing, and both convert onto the same Canadian scale.

The tests people most often ask about instead are the DELF and the DALF. Those are language diplomas rather than immigration tests, and they are not on the list IRCC accepts for these applications. A DELF B2 is a real qualification and it will not move your file forward.

What the word Canada in the name changes

Both exams have siblings. There is a TEF, and there is a TEF Canada; there is a TCF, and there is a TCF Canada. They share a name and an owner, and they are not interchangeable for this purpose. The Canada versions are the ones whose results are reported in the form the Canadian equivalency chart expects.

This is the single most expensive mistake available at the registration stage, because you will not discover it until you have a certificate in your hand. When you book, check that the session you are paying for names the Canada version explicitly.

The level you need, and why it is measured four times

The number that matters is NCLC 7, and it is asked for in all four abilities rather than on average. Each of your four results is converted separately, and your file is read off the weakest of them. Three abilities at NCLC 9 do not rescue a fourth that landed at NCLC 6.

That rule is why preparation aimed at your overall French is usually aimed at the wrong thing. What decides the outcome is the gap between your weakest ability and the threshold, which is often not the ability you would have guessed.

What reaching it is worth

French carries a block of additional points in the Comprehensive Ranking System, up to a maximum of 50. NCLC 7 or higher in all four French abilities is worth 25 additional points if your English is CLB 4 or lower, or if you did not take an English test at all. The same French level is worth 50 points if you also reach CLB 5 or higher in all four English abilities.

Both figures start at NCLC 7 and neither grows as your French climbs past it. Your core language points do keep rising, so 7 is a gate rather than a finish line.

How long a result lasts

A language result has to be less than two years old when you complete your Express Entry profile, and again when you submit your application for permanent residence. It is not measured against the day a decision is made, which means a result that is valid on your submission date does not quietly expire while the application is processed.

The practical consequence runs the other way from what most people expect, and it is worth its own piece: when to sit the test in a PR application.

Choosing between the two

Both are accepted and both convert to the same scale, so the decision is not about which one counts. It comes down to which format suits the way you perform, and which sittings you can actually reach from where you live. We compare them side by side in TEF Canada vs TCF Canada, and the score conversions are laid out in full for the TCF and the TEF.

If you are not sure which of your four abilities is furthest from the line, that is exactly what a short diagnostic is for. You can book a 15-minute call and find out before you commit to a test date.