TCF Québec is not TCF Canada, and the difference costs money
Quebec runs its own immigration selection, with its own ministry and its own French scale. If you book the federal exam for a Quebec application, or read your result off an NCLC chart, you have spent a test fee on the wrong paperwork.
- A Quebec exam, read on a Quebec scale
- Not the same test as TCF Canada
- Written by Adèle, a native French teacher
In short
TCF Québec is the version of the TCF aimed at Quebec immigration. The result is read by the Quebec ministry against the échelle québécoise, a different scale from the NCLC benchmarks IRCC uses for Express Entry. The exam tests the same four abilities and the same French, but it belongs to a different application route. Before you book, be certain which authority is going to read your attestation, because that decides which test you should be sitting.
TCF Québec at a glance
- Who reads the result
- The Quebec ministry (MIFI).
- Which scale
- The échelle québécoise, not NCLC.
- Which programmes
- Quebec's own economic selection programmes. (Verify: confirm which programme you are applying under and which tests it currently accepts, because Quebec revises this.)
- Sections
- The four abilities exist, but Quebec programmes have historically weighted oral French. (Verify: confirm which sections your programme requires before you book and pay.)
- Level required
- Set by programme and revised periodically. (Verify: read the current threshold off the Quebec government pages, never off a third party.)
- Validity
- Results must be recent when you apply. (Verify: confirm the current validity window with the Quebec ministry.)
Quebec and Express Entry are two separate systems
Quebec selects its own economic immigrants and does not use the federal Express Entry system. That means a different ministry, a different French scale, and different accepted tests. A result prepared for Express Entry is read against NCLC levels by IRCC; a result prepared for Quebec is read against the échelle québécoise by the Quebec ministry. The French is the same French, but the paperwork is not interchangeable, and this is the single thing candidates most often get wrong.
The rest of this site is written for the federal route, which is why almost every page here talks about NCLC 7. If Quebec is your route, treat those numbers as belonging to a different conversation. The teaching transfers completely. The thresholds do not.
Same French, different paperwork
| What differs | Express Entry (federal) | Quebec |
|---|---|---|
| Who selects you | Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, through Express Entry. | The Quebec ministry (MIFI), through its own programmes. Quebec issues its own selection certificate before the federal stage. |
| Which scale reads your result | NCLC, the Canadian benchmark scale, which is what every conversion chart on the rest of this site refers to. | The échelle québécoise, a separate 12-level scale. An NCLC number does not map across by simply reusing the digit. |
| Which tests are accepted | TCF Canada and TEF Canada. | A wider set, including the TEFAQ, the TEF, the TCF for Quebec and certain DELF or DALF diplomas. |
| Which abilities are weighted | All four abilities are read separately, and the weakest one sets what you can claim. | Historically weighted towards oral French, which is why oral-only sittings are common. |
| What a strong result is worth | Additional CRS points on top of your core human capital score. | Points inside Quebec's own selection grid, which is scored differently from the CRS. |
Scroll the table sideways to see both columns.
Four mistakes that cost a test fee
Test centre seats are paid for in advance and are rarely refundable, so the errors below are not academic. Each one we have listed is one we have seen a candidate make, and each is avoidable with ten minutes on the right government page.
Assuming NCLC 7 carries over
It does not, because Quebec does not use NCLC. Quebec reads results against the échelle québécoise, a separate scale. Reusing the digit from a federal chart is the most common error we see, and it is the one that costs a test fee.
Booking TCF Canada for a Quebec application
TCF Canada and TCF Québec are different sittings aimed at different authorities. Booking the wrong one is an expensive mistake, because test fees are paid to the centre and are rarely refundable.
Preparing all four abilities when two are read
If your programme weights oral French, months spent grinding written comprehension is time you did not need to spend. Confirm what your route reads before you build a study plan around all four.
Trusting a forum post over the ministry
Quebec's thresholds and programmes change more often than the federal ones. A number that was correct two intakes ago circulates for years afterwards, and nobody updates the post that told you.
Why this page quotes so few numbers
Quebec revises its programmes, its selection grid and its accepted tests more often than the federal system does, and the thresholds move with them. Every number that matters to your application should be read off the current Quebec government pages rather than from any third party, including this one.
We would rather send you to Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration for the threshold than publish a figure that was right last year. Anything on this page marked for verification is marked because we could not source it to a current official page, not because we could not find a number somewhere.
TCF Québec, answered
Is TCF Québec the same as TCF Canada?
Does my NCLC level tell me my Quebec level?
Which French test does Quebec accept?
Do I need all four abilities for Quebec?
Can I use one result for both Quebec and Express Entry?
Do you prepare candidates for TCF Québec?
Is this immigration advice?
The teaching is the same, the target is not
Tell us on the placement call that Quebec is your route and the plan gets built around that threshold instead of the federal one.
Self-paced
The full lesson library plus timed practice tests for all four sections, worked on your own schedule.
Start self-pacedCA$149one-timeOne payment, no subscription. Lifetime access to the library.
- Lesson library for all four exam sections
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Small-group live
Weekly live classes with Adèle, in groups small enough that everyone speaks, plus marked writing and speaking.
Join a small groupCA$449per 8-week blockCovers all eight weeks, about CA$56 a class.
- Everything in self-paced
- Weekly live class with Adèle
- Marked writing submissions every week
- Marked speaking recordings every week
One-to-one tutoring
Private sessions scheduled around your test date, with a study plan built from your diagnostic results.
Book one-to-oneCA$950per 10 sessionsCA$95 a session, booked around your test date.
- Everything in small-group live
- Private sessions scheduled around your test date
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Not sure which tier fits? Book a free 15-minute video call.
Prices are in Canadian dollars and include any tax that applies. Exam registration fees are paid directly to your test centre and are not included in any tier.
Preparation built around the exam you are actually sitting
Four things every tier includes, whether you study on your own or work with Adèle every week.
A native French teacher marks your work
Adèle reads every writing task and listens to every recording, then tells you which specific mistakes are costing you the most points.
Timed practice in the real exam format
You practise each section under the clock, in the order and the length you will meet on test day, so the paper itself is never the surprise.
Every result mapped to an NCLC level
Practice results are converted to NCLC levels using the published conversion tables, so you always know how far you are from the level your profile needs.
Study from anywhere, in your timezone
Lessons run online for candidates in Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, Senegal, France and Canada. If you cannot attend live, the recording and the correction still reach you.
The other exams, in the same detail
- TEFAQ: the oral French test for Quebec immigrationThe TEFAQ is the TEF adapted for Quebec, usually sat as the two oral sections alone. What it covers, why it is shorter than TEF Canada, and how Quebec reads the result.
- TCF Canada: format, scoring and NCLC levelsWhat the TCF Canada is, how the four sections are timed and marked, how results convert to NCLC levels for Express Entry, plus fees, dates and test centres.
- TEF vs TCF Canada: which exam should you take?TEF Canada and TCF Canada compared on format, scoring, difficulty, fees and availability, so you can pick the exam that gets you the most CRS points.
- TCF Canada score chart: results to NCLC levelsThe TCF Canada score-to-NCLC conversion table for all four skills, what each band means, and the CRS points a level is worth for Express Entry.
Find out where your French actually stands
Book a short assessment with Adèle: one writing task, one speaking task, and an honest plan for the weeks you have left before the exam.