Francophone Mobility Program: French Level and Steps

Search for the Francophone Mobility Program and half the results still say you need CLB 7 in French. That stopped being true for applications made on or after June 15, 2023. Today IRCC asks for a lower level, in only two skills, and that changes how long you need to prepare.

This page is about the French side of the program: the level IRCC asks for (as of October 2026), the exact TEF and TCF scores that prove it, the steps you and your employer follow, and how I prepare students who need NCLC 5 by a deadline. Everything about eligibility comes from IRCC's own pages. Your file is your own, though, so check your situation on canada.ca or with a licensed representative before you apply.

What is the Francophone Mobility Program?

Mobilité francophone is a Canadian work permit that lets an employer hire a French-speaking or bilingual foreign worker without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). IRCC files it under the International Mobility Program with the exemption code C16.

Three conditions frame everything else:

• Outside Québec. You must live and work in one of the 9 provinces or 3 territories outside Québec. Moncton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Toronto or Edmonton: yes. Montréal: no.
• A real job offer. Your employer submits it through the IRCC Employer Portal using code C16.
• Intermediate French. You prove your speaking and listening in French, which is where most of the confusion lives.

You also have to meet the general eligibility requirements for any work permit, which IRCC lists separately.

Francophone Mobility Program French level: NCLC 5, not CLB 7

For applications made on or after June 15, 2023, IRCC asks you to prove that your speaking and listening skills in French are at an intermediate level, which it sets at NCLC 5 or higher. NCLC (Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens) is the French name for the CLB scale, so NCLC 5 and CLB 5 are the same level.

Before June 15, 2023, the minimum was NCLC 7. That is the number you will still see on many immigration blogs.

Two details matter for your preparation:

1. Reading and writing are not assessed for this permit. You only need to prove the two oral skills.
2. Each skill counts on its own. A strong listening score does not make up for weak speaking.

What does NCLC 5 sound like? It is a solid intermediate level: you can follow a clear conversation on familiar topics, describe your work and your experience, ask for details and explain a simple problem. You don't need to sound native. You need to keep a conversation going without switching to English.

Tip from class: I tell students "five is the ear and the mouth." When the target is NCLC 5 for Mobilité francophone, we stop spending hours on written grammar drills and put almost all the time into listening and speaking out loud.

Which TEF and TCF scores prove NCLC 5?

IRCC publishes the conversion charts for both French tests. Here are the oral skills only, as of October 2026, for the TEF Canada (tests taken after December 10, 2023, scored out of 699) and the TCF Canada:

So the minimum is 352 in listening and 387 in speaking on the TEF Canada, or 369 in listening and 6/20 in speaking on the TCF Canada. Anything higher also qualifies.

Plan a margin. A student who scores exactly 6/20 in speaking on a practice test can easily get 5/20 on a stressful day. I aim for NCLC 6 in practice so NCLC 5 is safe on test day.

If you are choosing between the two tests, our guides to the TEF Canada format and scores and the TCF Canada format and score chart explain how each speaking test works, so you can pick the one that suits you.

Other ways to prove your French

A test is not the only option. On its application page, IRCC lists three kinds of proof:

• TEF or TCF results in speaking and listening, at NCLC 5 or higher
• A written confirmation from a college or university for a program in French
• Other documents that show your education was in French

If you grew up in a French-speaking country or studied in French, school records may be enough. If you learned French as an adult, as most of my US and Canadian students did, a test result is the clearest proof because it states your NCLC level directly.

Which jobs qualify?

For applications made on or after June 15, 2023, IRCC accepts an offer for a job in any TEER category of the National Occupational Classification. TEER stands for Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities.

The one exclusion: primary agriculture occupations in TEER 4 and 5.

Before June 15, 2023, only TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 jobs qualified. So if an older article told you a retail, hospitality or trades job "doesn't count," check again against IRCC's current page.

How to apply, step by step

Here is the order IRCC describes, as of October 2026:

1. The employer submits the offer. Your employer enters the offer of employment in the IRCC Employer Portal with exemption code C16 and pays the $230 employer compliance fee.
2. You get the offer number. It is a 7-digit number your employer receives after submitting the offer. You need it, along with your signed contract, for your application.
3. You gather your French proof. TEF or TCF speaking and listening results at NCLC 5 or higher, or proof of education in French.
4. You apply online. IRCC takes the application through your online account.
5. You pay the fees. The work permit processing fee is listed at $155 per person on IRCC's fee page, and biometrics, if you are asked to give them, cost $85 per person. All amounts are in Canadian dollars.

Do the French test first, or at least book it early. Results take time to arrive, and a job offer can come faster than you think.

How to prepare for NCLC 5 in listening and speaking

If you are around A2 today, NCLC 5 is reachable with focused oral practice. Here is the plan I use:

• Listening, 20 minutes a day. Canadian radio and news in French, at normal speed. First listen for the topic, second listen for the numbers, names and times. Test questions love numbers.
• Speaking, 3 sessions a week out loud. Describe your job, your last workplace problem and your plans in Canada, 2 minutes each, recorded on your phone.
• Questions, every day. Both oral tests ask you to get information from someone. Our guide to asking questions in French gives you the patterns.
• One mock test every two weeks, with a timer, to check your NCLC level per skill.

A mini-dialogue I practice with students, because it shows up in interviews and in the speaking test:

• Employeur : Pourquoi voulez-vous travailler à Moncton ? (Why do you want to work in Moncton?)
• Candidate : Parce que je veux vivre dans une communauté francophone et utiliser mon français au travail. (Because I want to live in a Francophone community and use my French at work.)
• Employeur : Vous commencez quand ? (When can you start?)
• Candidate : Dès que j'ai mon permis de travail, probablement dans deux mois. (As soon as I have my work permit, probably in two months.)

If you are starting from zero, build the base first with our step-by-step plan for how to learn French.

Common mistakes English speakers make

• Mistake: studying for CLB 7 in all four skills → Do instead: target NCLC 5 (with a margin) in speaking and listening, the only two skills IRCC asks for here.
• Mistake: looking for jobs in Montréal → Do instead: look outside Québec; the permit requires it.
• Mistake: booking whichever French test is available first → Do instead: book a TEF Canada or TCF Canada session, the versions whose scores IRCC converts to NCLC levels in its charts.
• Mistake: memorizing a speaking script → Do instead: practice short answers you can adapt; examiners ask follow-up questions.
• Mistake: saying Je suis intéressé dans ce poste → Say instead: Ce poste m'intéresse or Je suis intéressé par ce poste (I am interested in this position).

Practice

1. Which two French skills does IRCC assess for the Francophone Mobility work permit?
2. You score 380 in TEF Canada listening and 410 in speaking. Do you reach NCLC 5 in both?
3. You score 7/20 in TCF Canada speaking. Which NCLC level is that?
4. Can a job offer from an employer in Québec City be used for this permit?
5. What exemption code does the employer use in the Employer Portal?

Answers: 1. Speaking and listening. 2. Yes: 380 is in the 352–392 listening range and 410 is in the 387–421 speaking range. 3. NCLC 6. 4. No, the job must be outside Québec. 5. C16.

In short

The Francophone Mobility Program asks for NCLC 5 in French speaking and listening, not CLB 7, and for a job outside Québec in any TEER category except primary agriculture in TEER 4 and 5. Your employer submits the offer with code C16, and you prove your French with TEF or TCF oral scores or with education in French. If French is also part of your Express Entry plan later, the TEF Canada guide explains the higher NCLC 7 target there.

Not sure whether your French is already at NCLC 5 in speaking? Book a free 30-minute assessment with Magali: she will run a short test-style speaking task with you and tell you how far you are from the level IRCC asks for.