TCF Canada or TCF IRN, which one to take?

For Express Entry the answer is simple. Take TCF Canada, because IRCC does not accept TCF IRN.

TCF Canada and TCF IRN are two versions of the Test de connaissance du français by France Éducation international (FEI). The choice depends not on your level but on the country of your application. TCF Canada is for files with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), such as Express Entry or Canadian citizenship. TCF IRN is for France, for a multi-year residence permit, a resident card or French citizenship.

For an application to Québec, see TCF Canada or TCF Québec instead.

The differences in one table

	TCF Canada	TCF IRN
For which application	Economic immigration to Canada and Canadian citizenship, with a file at IRCC	Multi-year residence permit, resident card, French citizenship and the A1 check of the integration programme
Tests	4 compulsory tests	4 compulsory tests
Total length	2 h 47	1 h 35
Listening	39 questions in 35 minutes	25 questions in 20 minutes
Reading	39 questions in 60 minutes	25 questions in 35 minutes
Writing	3 tasks in 60 minutes	3 tasks in 30 minutes
Speaking	3 tasks in 12 minutes	3 tasks in 10 minutes
Listening and reading score	100 to 699 points	100 to 499 points, level shown up to B2
Writing and speaking	a mark out of 20 each	a mark out of 20 each
What the authority looks at	the NCLC for each skill, from IRCC’s table	the overall level reached, A1 to B2, shown on the certificate

Lengths, question counts and scales come from FEI’s candidate handbook (September 2026 version).

Writing carries very different weight

This is the biggest difference for preparation. TCF IRN tasks are shorter and closer to daily life.

Task	TCF Canada	TCF IRN
1	a message to describe, tell or explain, 60 to 120 words	describe a person, place or object in reply to a short message, 30 to 60 words
2	an article, letter or note that tells and comments on an experience, 120 to 150 words	an account of daily activities, 40 to 90 words
3	compare two views from two documents, then give your opinion, 120 to 180 words	give your opinion on a place, object or person, 40 to 90 words

At TCF Canada you write up to 450 words in 60 minutes, and task 3 means comparing two documents. At TCF IRN the maximum is 240 words in 30 minutes, with no documents to compare.

Speaking differs too

At TCF Canada, speaking task 2 gives 2 minutes of preparation. At TCF IRN it gives none. The exchanges also last different times. Task 1 lasts 2 minutes at TCF Canada and 3 minutes at TCF IRN, and task 3 lasts 4 minutes 30 at TCF Canada and 3 minutes 30 at TCF IRN.

The level required

In Canada, IRCC reads your marks with its equivalency table in NCLC. NCLC 7 in writing takes 10 or 11 out of 20, and the Federal Skilled Worker Program asks for NCLC 7 in all four skills when French is your first official language. The full scores are in the NCLC 7 guide.

In France, Service-Public.fr gives level A2 for a first multi-year residence permit, B1 for a first resident card and B2 for citizenship. The TCF IRN certificate states directly whether the overall levels A1, A2, B1 and B2 are reached. According to FEI’s handbook, an overall level is reached with three skills at the target level and the fourth at least at the top of the level below.

To see the exact scores for each application, use our French level tool.

Can one test replace the other?

For Express Entry, no. IRCC accepts TEF Canada and TCF Canada for French, not TCF IRN.

For France, Service-Public.fr asks for a TCF certificate issued by FEI less than 2 years ago for citizenship, and TCF IRN is the version FEI built for these applications. No official text says whether a TCF Canada certificate is accepted at the préfecture. If you already have one, ask your préfecture before sitting another test.

What is the same

• Both certificates are valid for 2 years.
• You can sit the test as often as you like, with 20 days between two sittings of the same TCF version.
• Approved centres set their own dates and prices.
• In writing, a word count outside the range, copying from the instructions or a text learned by heart can lead to “A1 non atteint”, whichever version you take.