TCF Canada or TEF Canada? The two tests side by side

IRCC, Canada’s immigration department, accepts both tests for Express Entry. They differ in format, not in value: both scores become the same NCLC levels.

Both convert to NCLC with IRCC’s official table

Take the 5-question check

The official formats

	TCF Canadaby FEI	TEF Canadaby the CCI Paris Île-de-France
Listening	39 questions · 35 min	40 questions · 40 min
Reading	39 questions · 60 min	40 questions · 60 min
Writing	3 texts in 60 min60–120, 120–150 and 120–180 words. Over the maximum, a text can be marked “A1 not achieved”.	2 texts: 25 + 35 min80 and 200 words, minimum only
Speaking	3 tasks · 12 min	2 parts · 15 min
Total	2 h 47	2 h 55Sum of the 4 parts
Scores IRCC reads	Up to 699 in listening and readingUp to 20 in speaking and writing	~~Score / 699~~Équivalence ancien score column only
Results	Within 15 working days after FEI gets the papers	About 2 weeks, by email
Valid · sit again	2 years · after 20 days	2 years · after 20 days

Which format suits you?

5 questions

Word rules in the writing paper

0 to 250 words

TCF task 160–120
TCF task 2120–150
TCF task 3120–180
TEF section A80 or more
TEF section B200 or more

A closed box has a maximum. Over the maximum, a TCF text can be marked “A1 not achieved”.

Which is harder, the TEF or the TCF?

Neither, by rule. Each test has its own traps, and one of them may suit the way you work.

Writing is where they differ most. The TCF asks for 3 texts, each with a minimum and a maximum number of words. FEI, which runs the TCF, can mark a paper “A1 not achieved” if a text breaks the limits, misses a task, is off the topic or copies sentences from the task documents. The TEF asks for 2 texts with a minimum only: 80 words, then 200.

Speaking has a different shape. The TCF has 3 tasks in 12 minutes, one to one with an examiner. The TEF has 2 parts in 15 minutes: you ask for information, then you argue to convince.

Multiple choice is close. 39 questions in each TCF paper, 40 in each TEF paper.

Check a TCF text against the word limits (in French)

A man at a desk in warm lamp light holds an open book and rests his chin on his hand, with a laptop beside him.

NCLC 7 in writing, IRCC’s table

TCF Canada

Level	Speaking	Listening	Reading	Writing
NCLC 8	12–13	503–522	499–523	12–13
NCLC 7	10–11	458–502	453–498	10–11
NCLC 6	7–9	398–457	406–452	7–9

TEF Canada

Level	Speaking	Listening	Reading	Writing
NCLC 8	349–370	280–297	233–247	349–370
NCLC 7	310–348	249–279	207–232	310–348
NCLC 6	271–309	217–248	181–206	271–309

Which French test is easier for Canada PR?

No test is easier in IRCC’s eyes. PR means permanent residence.

IRCC lists both tests as proof of French for Express Entry. It turns each score into an NCLC level (Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens, the Canadian levels for French). The same level counts the same, whichever test it came from.

Only the numbers differ. For NCLC 7 in writing, IRCC’s table asks for 10 to 11 out of 20 in the TCF, or 310 to 348 in the TEF.

Which level you need depends on your own application. For advice on that, ask a licensed immigration consultant or a lawyer.

See your NCLC level for each skill

The score trap on a TEF certificate

A TEF Canada certificate shows each score twice. IRCC reads only one column.

The certificate gives a score out of 699 for each skill, and an older equivalent called “Équivalence ancien score”. IRCC’s table uses the second one. IRCC also warns: “If you don’t enter the correct scores, we may refuse your application.”

The TCF Canada has one score per skill, so it has no such trap.

TEF Canada certificate: the two score columns

1~~Score / 699~~

IRCC: “Don’t enter these results in your Express Entry profile. They aren’t compatible with our system at this time.”
2Équivalence ancien score

IRCC: “Only enter the scores for each language ability from that column.”

Can you prepare for the TEF in 3 months?

No official body gives a number of weeks. It depends on how far your scores are from the level you need. What the rules do fix is the time a resit takes.

3 months with a resit inside, from the CCI’s rules for the TEF Canada

Week 1You start to prepare
Week 8First sitting
Week 10Results, 2 weeks later
Week 11Earliest resit, 20 days after week 8
Week 13Results of the resit

So if your first sitting is no later than week 8, a second try still fits in 3 months. Seats and dates are set by each test centre, so book early. The TCF Canada has the same 20-day rule, and FEI sends results within 15 working days after it gets the papers.

Plan your weeks of practice (in French)

TCF Québec and TEF Québec are other tests

Québec has its own rules for immigration. FEI sells a TCF Québec, where you can choose to sit 1, 2, 3 or 4 tests. The CCI sells a TEF Québec, called TEFAQ. Both are made for Québec’s immigration ministry and aren’t the same as the TCF Canada or the TEF Canada, so check the name before you pay.

FEI also says the TCF Canada itself has been recognised by Québec’s ministry since the end of January 2022.

After you choose

Sources