CELPIP vs TEF vs TCF: you are probably asking the wrong question

Search for CELPIP vs TEF and you will find the same article a dozen times: CELPIP is the English test, TEF Canada is the French one, pick whichever language you are stronger in.

That framing quietly costs people invitations, because it treats a points question as a language question. Here is the version that matters:

French is not an alternative to English in Express Entry. It is an addition — worth up to 50 extra CRS points on top of your English score. And you are allowed to submit both.

Once you know that, "which test should I take?" becomes a different question: is my French good enough to be worth testing, and if so, which French test suits me?

This article is written from the preparation side — we build the engine that scores speaking and writing on Hilingo, and we run CELPIP and TCF Canada mocks. For the rules of any immigration program the authority is IRCC, not us.

The three tests, in one line each

Test	Language	Scale	Read by IRCC as
CELPIP-General	English	Levels M, 3–12 per skill	CLB, one-to-one
TEF Canada	French	Raw scores per skill, different range for each	NCLC, via conversion
TCF Canada	French	100–699 for listening and reading; out of 20 for writing and speaking	NCLC, via conversion

CLB and NCLC are the same twelve-level framework — CLB is its English name, NCLC (Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens) its French one. A CLB 7 and an NCLC 7 are the same benchmark in different languages.

The part most comparisons leave out

If you reach NCLC 7 or higher in all four French skills, Express Entry awards additional CRS points on top of your core language score. At the time of writing that is:

• 25 points if your English is CLB 4 or lower
• 50 points if your English is CLB 5 or higher

Read the second line again. The bigger French bonus requires you to also have a reasonable English result. The system is not asking you to choose — it rewards you for holding both.

Fifty points is, for most profiles, larger than any other single change available to you. You cannot quickly gain a degree or three years of Canadian experience. You can, over a few months, move a French result from NCLC 6 to NCLC 7.

There is a second reason French matters, separate from the points: category-based draws for French-speaking candidates, which have repeatedly gone out at CRS cut-offs well below the general draws. Eligibility for those draws starts at NCLC 7 in all four skills. Check the current rounds on IRCC rather than on any blog, including this one — the categories and cut-offs change.

So: English, French, or both?

Take an English test. Almost everyone needs one. CELPIP is the most straightforward if you are testing for Canada, because its levels are CLB levels — a CELPIP 9 is CLB 9, with nothing to convert.

Then honestly assess your French. Not "did I study it at school" — can you hold a conversation and write a short structured text? If you are anywhere near B2, a French test is very likely the highest-value few months of study available to you.

If your French is genuinely beginner-level, do not force it. NCLC 7 in all four skills is a real bar, and a French result below it earns no bonus at all. Put that time into your weakest English skill instead.

TEF Canada or TCF Canada?

Both are IRCC-accepted, both are produced in France (TEF by the Paris Île-de-France CCI, TCF by France Éducation international), and both are read as NCLC. The differences that matter in practice:

TCF Canada reports on two scales that do not resemble each other. Listening and reading come back somewhere between 100 and 699; writing and speaking come back out of 20. Those /20 bands are narrow — between NCLC 7 and NCLC 9 there are only four marks, so a single mark from an examiner moves your whole profile.

Here are the official conversions, the same tables our scoring engine reports against:

NCLC	TCF Listening	TCF Reading	TCF Writing	TCF Speaking
10	549–699	549–699	16–20	16–20
9	523–548	524–548	14–15	14–15
8	503–522	499–523	12–13	12–13
7	458–502	453–498	10–11	10–11
6	398–457	406–452	7–9	7–9
5	369–397	375–405	6	6

Note that listening and reading are not the same table — reading NCLC 8 starts at 499, listening at 503. People land on exactly that line.

TEF Canada uses a different raw scale for each of its four skills, with its own conversion to NCLC. Those ranges are published by IRCC and by the CCI, and because they differ per skill and are revised from time to time, check them at the source rather than trusting a table in a blog post. The structural point is the same: four skills, each converted separately, and your lowest one decides everything.

Neither test is easier. The honest differentiator is availability and format preference — which one you can actually book near you, and whether you prefer TCF's mix of multiple-choice and open tasks or TEF's. If both are bookable, pick the one you can sit sooner, because a French result you have beats a better French result you are still waiting for.

The rule that applies to all three

IRCC does not average your four skills. It takes your lowest.

This is true for CELPIP, for TEF and for TCF, and it is where most candidates lose points. From our own TCF score chart, three candidates:

	Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking	Result
Amara	520 (NCLC 8)	510 (NCLC 8)	12 (NCLC 8)	11 (NCLC 7)	NCLC 7
Karim	470 (NCLC 7)	460 (NCLC 7)	10 (NCLC 7)	10 (NCLC 7)	NCLC 7
Divya	560 (NCLC 10)	550 (NCLC 10)	14 (NCLC 9)	9 (NCLC 6)	NCLC 6

Divya has clearly the strongest French of the three and the worst outcome. Her speaking is one mark below the NCLC 7 line — a 9 instead of a 10 — and that single mark drops her out of the French bonus and out of the French category draws entirely.

Karim, who is flat and unremarkable across all four, qualifies.

How to decide, in order

1. Book or plan your English test. For Canada, CELPIP keeps the arithmetic simplest.
2. Measure your French honestly, under timed conditions, on the scale IRCC actually reads. Not a self-assessment, and not a CEFR certificate — a B2 certificate spans NCLC 4 to NCLC 7, which tells you almost nothing about eligibility.
3. If you are within reach of NCLC 7 in all four, take a French test. The 25 or 50 additional points are usually worth more than anything else you can change this year.
4. Choose TEF or TCF on availability and format, not on a claim that one is easier.
5. Attack your lowest skill, in whichever language. It is the only score that counts.

Measure both before you pay for either

Everything above depends on two numbers you probably do not have yet: your real English level and your real French level, under exam timing, on the scales IRCC reads.

Hilingo gives you one full scored mock free, with no card. We run CELPIP and TCF Canada mocks now — full length, real timers, with our own engine scoring every speaking and writing answer and reporting CLB or NCLC per skill, so you can see exactly which ability is capping you before you book anything. TEF Canada mocks are in development and will follow.

Take a free scored mock

Free, no account needed:

• TCF Canada score chart — both TCF scales converted to NCLC, in full
• CELPIP score chart — CELPIP to CLB, IELTS and PTE Core
• How CELPIP is scored — what each level means
• CELPIP vs IELTS vs PTE Core — choosing among the English tests
• PTE Core vs CELPIP — the head-to-head on the two Canada-focused English tests
• IELTS vs PTE Core — opposite bottlenecks at CLB 9

Frequently asked questions

Can I submit both an English and a French test for Express Entry?

Yes, and for many candidates it is the right move. Express Entry recognises a first and a second official language. The additional points for French are explicitly tiered by your English level — 25 points if your English is CLB 4 or lower and 50 if it is CLB 5 or higher — which means the larger bonus assumes you hold both results.

Is TEF or TCF easier?

Neither, in a way that generalises. They use different raw scales and different task mixes, but both are converted to the same NCLC levels and both are accepted by IRCC. Choose on which you can book sooner and which format suits you, not on a difficulty claim.

What NCLC do I need for the French bonus?

NCLC 7 or higher in all four skills. Not an average — your lowest skill has to reach 7. Below that, the additional points are zero.

Is CELPIP accepted for French-language streams?

No. CELPIP is an English test and demonstrates English ability only. French streams and the French bonus require a French result from an IRCC-accepted French test — currently TEF Canada or TCF Canada.

Does a B2 certificate prove NCLC 7?

No. A CEFR B2 spans roughly NCLC 4 to NCLC 7, so "I have a B2" does not establish eligibility. Only a converted result from an accepted test does. Our TCF Canada score chart shows the full mapping.

How long are the results valid?

Two years from the test date, for English and French alike. If you are planning to sit both, plan the dates so neither expires before you submit.