The short answer
IRCC accepts TEF Canada and TCF Canada equally, and neither is worth more points than the other. Both convert to the same NCLC scale, both results must be less than two years old at profile and at application, and most Express Entry programs ask for NCLC 7. Choose on format and on which test centre has a date, not on a reputation for being easier.
If you are preparing a Canadian immigration file, the first question is almost never about French. It is about which of the two tests to book, and the internet answers it badly: half the pages tell you one is easier, the other half tell you the opposite, and almost none of them show you the two conversion tables side by side.
So here they are. I teach candidates preparing both, and the honest answer is that the choice matters far less than what you do in the eight weeks before the exam.
Before you rely on this
Every score band and every programme minimum on this page was checked against the IRCC language test results page on 6 October 2026, when that page was last updated on 22 June 2026. Immigration requirements change, and I am a French teacher, not an immigration consultant. Confirm your own case on the IRCC site before you book anything.
What does not differ: IRCC treats them the same
This is the part that settles most of the argument. Both tests are designated by IRCC, and a given NCLC level is worth exactly the same points whichever test produced it. There is no bonus for one, no preference in processing, and nothing on your file that says which test you sat.
Both are also valid for less than two years, measured twice: when you complete your Express Entry profile, and again when you submit your application for permanent residence. That second date is the one candidates forget, and an attestation that expires mid-procedure has to be sat and paid for again.
What actually differs: the format
The TCF Canada is produced by France Éducation international, the TEF Canada by Le français des affaires, the certification arm of the Paris Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce. Four papers each, all compulsory, but not laid out the same way.
| Paper | TCF Canada | TEF Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | 39 questions, 35 minutes | 40 questions, 40 minutes |
| Reading | 39 questions, 60 minutes | 60 minutes |
| Writing | 3 tasks, 60 minutes, marked out of 20 | 2 tasks, 60 minutes |
| Speaking | 3 tasks, 12 minutes | 2 tasks, 15 minutes |
Two consequences worth thinking about. On the TCF Canada the writing is three shorter pieces, so a bad task costs you a third of the paper rather than half. On the TEF Canada the speaking gives you 15 minutes across two tasks, so you have longer to recover from a shaky start.
Neither is easier. They are different shapes of the same hour, and the shape that suits you is the one you should sit.
The conversion tables
This is what your result sheet turns into. Both tables below come from the IRCC equivalency chart.
TCF Canada to NCLC
| NCLC | Speaking | Listening | Reading | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 or more | 16 to 20 | 549 to 699 | 549 to 699 | 16 to 20 |
| 9 | 14 to 15 | 523 to 548 | 524 to 548 | 14 to 15 |
| 8 | 12 to 13 | 503 to 522 | 499 to 523 | 12 to 13 |
| 7 | 10 to 11 | 458 to 502 | 453 to 498 | 10 to 11 |
| 6 | 7 to 9 | 398 to 457 | 406 to 452 | 7 to 9 |
| 5 | 6 | 369 to 397 | 375 to 405 | 6 |
| 4 | 4 to 5 | 331 to 368 | 342 to 374 | 4 to 5 |
TEF Canada to NCLC
| NCLC | Speaking | Listening | Reading | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 or more | 371 and above | 298 and above | 248 and above | 371 and above |
| 8 | 349 to 370 | 280 to 297 | 233 to 247 | 349 to 370 |
| 7 | 310 to 348 | 249 to 279 | 207 to 232 | 310 to 348 |
| 6 | 271 to 309 | 217 to 248 | 181 to 206 | 271 to 309 |
| 5 | 226 to 270 | 181 to 216 | 151 to 180 | 226 to 270 |
| 4 | 181 to 225 | 145 to 180 | 121 to 150 | 181 to 225 |
Read these tables as thresholds, not as targets. Your level is the lowest of your four abilities, not the average: one paper at NCLC 6 makes the whole file NCLC 6, however good the other three were.
What each programme actually requires
| Programme | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Canadian Experience Class, TEER 0 or 1 | NCLC 7 |
| Canadian Experience Class, TEER 2 or 3 | NCLC 5 |
| Federal Skilled Worker, first official language | NCLC 7 |
| Federal Skilled Worker, second official language | NCLC 5 |
| Federal Skilled Trades, speaking and listening | NCLC 5 |
| Federal Skilled Trades, reading and writing | NCLC 4 |
And then the part that candidates underplay: inside Express Entry the language points keep climbing after the minimum. In the Federal Skilled Worker grid, each ability is worth 4 points at NCLC 7, 5 at NCLC 8 and 6 at NCLC 9 or more. Treating NCLC 7 as the finish line is choosing the bottom of the scale.
So which one should you take?
In order of how much it should weigh on the decision:
- The date and the place. Whichever test has a seat in your city, in a month that leaves your file on schedule, wins. This is not a tie-breaker, it is the main criterion, and candidates who spend six weeks choosing a test have already lost more than the choice was worth.
- How you fail. If you fall apart when one long task goes badly, the TCF Canada's three shorter writing tasks spread the risk. If you start slow and warm up, the TEF Canada's longer speaking slot gives you room.
- What you can practise with. Both have past papers and prep material. Use whichever you already have a steady source of real tasks for, because volume of real tasks beats any format advantage.
What should not weigh on it: anything you read about one being "easier". IRCC's own tables are the proof: the same NCLC level, from either test, is worth the same thing.
The paper that actually decides your file
Writing. Every time.
It is the skill you can live in French without ever using, it is marked by a human against criteria you can learn, and it is where I see candidates who speak perfectly well land on 9 out of 20, which is NCLC 6, which is one notch below the threshold they needed. The gap between 9 and 11 is almost never vocabulary. It is the way the text is built, which is good news: a copy can be restructured in a few weeks, whereas vocabulary takes months.
If you want the full method for that paper, Le Système CLB 7 is the guide I built from teaching it, and my TCF preparation lessons are built around the same four papers, written production included.
Where to start this week
Download the free TCF Canada checklist: the four papers, the NCLC bands, and what each paper tests, on something you can print and tick off. Then sit one timed writing task before you decide anything else, because your score on that task tells you how much time you actually need.
If you are still choosing between exams more broadly, including the DELF, I have compared all three in TCF vs DELF vs TEF. And if your goal is French nationality rather than Canadian residence, that is a different test again: the rules changed in 2026, and I have set them out in French citizenship and the new B2 requirement.