- Result validity, at profile and at PR application
- 2 years
- French tests accepted: TEF Canada and TCF Canada
- 2
- TEF column to enter in Express Entry
- Ancien
- French-category bar, all four skills
- NCLC 7
Two rules trip up French-speaking Express Entry candidates every year: results expire after 2 years, and TEF Canada certificates show two sets of scores. Both rules were confirmed again on canada.ca and on the test owners' sites on 5 October 2026.
What changed
Nothing new in 2026, which is the point: IRCC's language-test page (last modified 22 June 2026) still sets these rules, and we see the same questions every week.
1. The 2-year rule. IRCC requires your language results to be less than 2 years old on two dates: when you complete your Express Entry profile, and when you submit your permanent residence application. The test owners say the same: France Éducation international states that a TCF Canada attestation is valid 2 years from the date results are issued, and CCI Paris Île-de-France says a TEF Canada attestation is valid 2 years from its issue date.
2. The TEF Canada score column. TEF Canada certificates now report each skill on a 0–699 scale. IRCC says this "Score / 699" column is not compatible with its system. For Express Entry, enter only the "Équivalence ancien score" (previous score equivalency) column. Entering the wrong numbers can lead to a refused application.
IRCC also notes that for TEF Canada tests taken between 11 December 2023 and 6 May 2024, CCI Paris Île-de-France temporarily changed the NCLC conversion and later reverted it. If you took the test in that window, check that your profile shows the corrected levels.
NCLC 7 at a glance
| Skill | TCF Canada | TEF Canada (Équivalence ancien score) |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | 458–502 | 249–279 |
| Reading | 453–498 | 207–232 |
| Writing | 10–11 out of 20 | 310–348 |
| Speaking | 10–11 out of 20 | 310–348 |
These are the NCLC 7 bands from IRCC's conversion tables. Any higher score gives a higher NCLC level. The NCLC score converter shows every level for both tests.
Who it affects
- Candidates whose test is close to 2 years old. The result must still be less than 2 years old on the day you submit your permanent residence application, not only when you entered the pool.
- Every TEF Canada candidate filling in an Express Entry profile.
- Candidates choosing between tests. Express Entry accepts only TEF Canada and TCF Canada for French. Our TCF Canada vs TEF Canada comparison explains the differences.
What to do now
- Check the issue date on your attestation and work out the 2-year deadline. Plan a retest early if an invitation could come after it.
- TEF candidates: compare the numbers in your profile with the Équivalence ancien score column, skill by skill.
- Check your CRS score with the CRS calculator, and see recent cut-offs in the full draw history.
- Preparing for a retest? Start with a TCF Canada practice test or a TEF Canada practice test, and read what NCLC 7 means on the TCF Canada.