Express Entry French: the CRS points French earns, from IRCC's tables

Express Entry French earns points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) in 3 ways: as an official language, as additional points for French, and as the entry rule for the French-language proficiency category. This page copies IRCC’s points tables for each and shows how they add up. It gives no test scores: to see which score reaches each level, use the TEF Canada score chart or the TCF Canada score chart. For what NCLC 7 means skill by skill, read CLB 7 in French, and to plan toward it, How long to reach CLB 7 in French. For the exams themselves, read the TEF Canada guide or the TCF Canada guide.

How does French count in Express Entry?

French counts in Express Entry through a level on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC), the French name for the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB), one level for each of 4 abilities [3]. IRCC accepts 2 French tests for this: TEF Canada and TCF Canada [3]. The CRS criteria page then turns those levels into points in 3 places [1]:

• Official languages. Points for each ability in your first official language, and fewer points in your second.
• Additional points. 25 or 50 points for NCLC 7 or higher in all 4 French skills.
• Skill transferability. Your first official language level combined with education or work experience.

A separate page sets the French-language proficiency category, which uses the same NCLC levels as its entry rule [2]. All 3 IRCC pages used here are dated 22 June 2026.

How many CRS points does French earn as a first official language?

As a first official language, French earns up to 34 points per ability without a spouse or partner, and up to 32 with one [1]. The 4 abilities are reading, writing, speaking and listening, and each is scored on its own [1]. The maximum for this factor is 136 points without a spouse or partner and 128 with one [1].

The jump from CLB 6 to CLB 7 is 8 points per ability without a spouse or partner, tied with CLB 8 to CLB 9 for the largest step in the table [1]. Across 4 abilities, that is 32 points.

The CRS criteria page does not say how your first official language is chosen. It only labels the 2 tables “first official language” and “second official language” [1].

How many points does French earn as a second official language?

As a second official language, French earns up to 6 points per ability, with or without a spouse or partner [1]. The maximum for this factor is 24 points without a spouse or partner and 22 with one [1].

These points are small next to the additional points for French in the next section. That is where most of French’s weight sits for someone whose first official language is English.

What are the Express Entry French language proficiency points?

The additional points for French language proficiency are 25 or 50 CRS points, and both cases need NCLC 7 or higher in all 4 French skills [1]. IRCC’s 2 rows read [1]:

The 2 rows are alternatives, so the most this factor gives is 50 [1]. They are written in terms of French and English, not first and second official language [1]. The additional points section as a whole has a maximum of 600 points, which also covers a provincial nomination, a sibling in Canada and education in Canada [1].

How do you get 50 points for French in Express Entry?

You get 50 points for French when you have NCLC 7 or higher in all 4 French skills and CLB 5 or higher in all 4 English skills [1]. Both conditions are per skill. One French skill at NCLC 6, or one English skill at CLB 4, moves you out of the 50-point row [1].

With English at CLB 4 or lower in any skill, or with no English test, the same French result gives 25 points [1]. So an English test at CLB 5 in all 4 skills is worth 25 more points on top of the second official language points it earns [1].

How do the French points add up?

Here are 4 sums for a single candidate with no spouse or partner. The sums are ours; every number in them is from IRCC’s tables [1].

The third row is the one to notice. One skill at NCLC 6 costs 8 points in that skill and the whole 50-point bonus: 58 points against the first row [1].

French as a first official language also feeds skill transferability. For education, the CRS criteria page gives up to 25 points with “CLB 7 or more on all first official language abilities, with one or more under CLB 9”, and up to 50 with CLB 9 or more on all 4 [1]. Skill transferability has a maximum of 100 points [1].

If you have a spouse or partner, their first official language earns up to 5 points per ability, with a maximum of 20 [1]: 1 point at CLB 5 or 6, 3 at CLB 7 or 8, and 5 at CLB 9 or more [1].

What does the French-language proficiency category in Express Entry require?

The French-language proficiency category requires a “minimum score of 7 in all 4 language abilities” on the NCLC, from French test results [2]. It is 1 of 10 categories on IRCC’s category-based selection page, dated 22 June 2026 [2]. The page does not list a work experience condition for this category [2].

It is not a separate program. Candidates must “meet the minimum criteria for Express Entry, including being eligible for 1 of the 3 immigration programs it covers” [2]. They must also “meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round” [2].

Within a category round, IRCC says it ranks eligible candidates by CRS score and invites the top-ranking ones to apply for permanent residence [2]. Meeting the French requirement puts you in that ranking; it is not an invitation. Results of past French rounds are on our Express Entry French draws page.

Which French exams does IRCC accept for Express Entry?

TEF Canada and TCF Canada are the 2 French tests IRCC lists for Express Entry [3]. Both report a level for each of the 4 abilities, and the tables above use those levels [3]. How to choose between them is covered in which French test for Canadian PR.

Common mistakes

• Counting the bonus with one skill short. Both bonus rows need NCLC 7 or higher in all 4 French skills [1].
• Adding 25 and 50 together. They are 2 alternative rows; the most is 50 [1].
• Skipping the English test without checking the cost. CLB 5 in all 4 English skills is the difference between 25 and 50 points [1].
• Reading the wrong grid. IRCC’s language test page also shows a Federal Skilled Worker Program grid, with a first official language worth up to 24 points [3]. That grid is not the CRS.
• Treating the French category as a guarantee. IRCC ranks eligible candidates by CRS score within a round [2].
• Relying on a points table from a blog, including this one. IRCC updates its pages. Compare the date under “Page details” on the IRCC page with the date at the top of this one.

See also: the CLB calculator, the Francophone Mobility Program, French PR pathways side by side and the FMCSP student pilot.

Sources