TEF Canada preparation: the complete guide

The Test d’évaluation de français pour le Canada is one of the two French tests Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada accepts for economic immigration and citizenship, and Quebec accepts it for its programs. It is designed by Le français des affaires, the language-testing arm of the CCI Paris Île-de-France.

Like TCF Canada it is a placement test rather than a pass-or-fail exam: each section places you on a level. The two tests are accepted equally by IRCC, so the choice between them is about format and availability, which the comparison page walks through.

Since December 2023 every skill is reported on a single 0–699 scale, and IRCC publishes the table that turns those scores into NCLC levels.

Listening is 40 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, recordings played once. Reading is 40 questions in 60 minutes, on notices, letters, articles and short texts with gaps.

Writing is 2 sections in 60 minutes: continue a news item whose opening is given (at least 80 words), then argue a point of view in a letter to a newspaper or forum (at least 200 words). Speaking is 2 sections in 15 minutes with an examiner: obtain information about an advertisement by asking questions, then present an offer to a friend and convince them to take part.

Each skill is scored from 0 to 699. IRCC’s table converts the score to an NCLC level per skill, from 4 to 10; the thresholds differ slightly between listening, reading, writing and speaking, and the score conversion page prints all four.

The attestation also shows an "old score" equivalence on the pre-2023 scales. Express Entry profiles are filled in from that column, and both give the same NCLC level, so the level is what to look at.

Sessions are run by approved centres, mostly Alliance Française branches in Canada and a network of centres abroad. Register for "TEF Canada" specifically: the TEF, TEF Québec (TEFAQ) and TEF Naturalisation are other combinations of the same sections and are not accepted for federal immigration.

Fees are set by each centre, roughly 400 Canadian dollars for the four sections in Canada, and vary by country elsewhere. Results usually take a few weeks and are delivered as an attestation valid for two years.

TEF Canada rewards candidates who know the task formats cold: the writing minimums, the question-asking task in speaking, the persuasion task. A plan that works from B1–B2:

What costs levels most often:

You can sit TEF Canada again after a waiting period of 30 days, and each sitting is the full set of sections you registered for. Because the levels are per skill, a retake is worth planning around the one or two skills that fell short.

The Comprehensive Ranking System counts French per skill as a first official language, up to 34 points a skill without a spouse, and adds a bonus of 25 or 50 points for NCLC 7 or higher in all four skills, depending on your English. The score conversion page shows the points for every NCLC level, with the IRCC criteria linked at the bottom.

Bring the identity document you registered with and arrive early. Listening, reading and writing are taken on a computer at most centres. Speaking is a face-to-face conversation with an examiner, recorded, so your slot may be at a different time from the written sections. Ask your centre how the sessions are scheduled when you register.