TCF Canada vs TEF Canada: Which Is Easier?

Neither test is officially easier: IRCC accepts the TCF Canada and the TEF Canada for Express Entry and converts both to the same NCLC levels. What differs is how much of each test’s scale you need, the format of each paper, and which of your four skills is weakest.

To get past the usual forum opinions, we read the conversion grids that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada publishes on its language test results page (dated 22 June 2026) and computed, for every NCLC level and every skill, where the threshold sits on each test’s scale.

What is the difference between the TCF Canada and the TEF Canada?

The TCF Canada and the TEF Canada are two French tests approved by IRCC for Canadian immigration. The TCF Canada is run by France Éducation international, the TEF Canada by the Paris Île-de-France chamber of commerce (CCI Paris). Both test the same four skills, but the papers differ in length, task design and scoring scale.

The TCF figures come from the TCF Canada candidate manual, the TEF figures from the official TEF Canada presentation. The TCF writing paper has three tasks of 60 to 120, 120 to 150 and 120 to 180 words; the TEF writing paper has two longer pieces, a continuation of an article and an argued opinion.

What score do you need for NCLC 7 on each test?

NCLC 7 is the threshold that matters most for French speakers in Express Entry: it is the minimum for the French-language draws and for the extra French points. On the IRCC grid, NCLC 7 requires 458 in listening, 453 in reading and 10/20 in speaking and writing on the TCF Canada, against 249, 207 and 310 on the TEF Canada.

Each skill is converted separately. A candidate with 520 in listening and 9/20 in writing on the TCF is NCLC 8 in one skill and NCLC 6 in the other, and the lower level is the one that blocks a NCLC 7 requirement. The TCF manual maps NCLC 7 to B2 on the CEFR scale, and NCLC 5 and 6 to B1, which gives a useful learning target: what B2 involves is set out in B1 vs B2 French.

Is one test easier on paper?

On paper, the TCF Canada grid sets NCLC 7 lower on its own scale than the TEF Canada grid does, and the gap is widest in speaking and writing. According to Gallus’s analysis of the IRCC conversion tables, NCLC 7 sits at 50% of the TCF expression scale against 69% of the TEF scale, a gap of 19 points.

We expressed every threshold as a position within each scale’s real range (the TCF comprehension scale starts at 100, not 0, so 458 sits at 59.8% of the 100-699 range).

Two patterns stand out. The TEF grid is almost perfectly linear: NCLC 5, 7 and 9 sit at about 50%, 69% and 83% of every TEF scale. The TCF grid is not, and the gap is largest at the levels most candidates aim for: at NCLC 6 the TCF expression threshold is 7/20, or 35%, against 60% on the TEF.

This does not prove the TCF is easier. A percentage of a scale is not a percentage of correct answers, and each organiser calibrates its own scale against the CEFR with its own tasks and its own examiners. What the comparison does show is how coarse the TCF expression scale is: NCLC 7, 8 and 9 each correspond to exactly two whole marks out of 20, so a single mark from an examiner can move you a full NCLC level. On the TEF, the NCLC 7 band is 39 points wide. The measurement script is tools/nclc_thresholds.py in the Gallus site repository, and it checks every band against the live IRCC page before printing.

Which test should you choose?

The TCF Canada or the TEF Canada should be chosen on practical grounds first, then on format. Both produce identical Express Entry points at the same NCLC level, so the better test is the one you can sit soon, in a nearby centre, in the format that favours your strongest skills.

Then check the practical details that decide most bookings: the next available date at a centre near you, the local price, and how long results take to arrive. Results must still be less than two years old on the day you submit your permanent residence application, so do not test too early. Quebec’s own selection process uses different tests, compared in TEFAQ vs TCF Québec, and the wider family of French tests is laid out in DELF, DALF, TCF or TEF.

How long does it take to reach NCLC 7?

Reaching NCLC 7 means reaching roughly CEFR B2 in all four skills, and the B1 to B2 step is the longest on the French learning path. The usual planning figures are about 550 to 650 study hours from zero to B2, of which about 200 hours separate B1 from B2, so a deadline is mostly a question of weekly hours.

Those hours are broken down level by level in how long it takes to learn French. What usually holds candidates back at NCLC 6 is not grammar knowledge but speed: following a natural-speed recording, and producing an argued opinion in real time. Both respond to volume of exposure more than to drills. Why French skills matter so much for the points total, and how often French-language draws invite candidates, is measured in French for Express Entry.

Where does Gallus fit?

The step from NCLC 6 to NCLC 7 is the step from B1 to B2, and it is mostly built from comprehension: hearing and reading enough natural French that the structures stop needing translation. Gallus is built around graded French stories from A1 to C1 with audio, so the B2 level can be reached through reading and listening at the right difficulty. The B2 level page shows what that level covers.

What is the bottom line?

IRCC treats the two tests as equivalent: the same NCLC level earns the same points. On paper the TCF Canada asks for 10/20 in speaking and writing for NCLC 7, half its scale, while the TEF Canada asks for 69% of every scale, but the scales are not directly comparable.

Pick the test you can book soonest, in the format that suits your weakest skill, and time it so the results are still valid when you apply.