Do I need CLB 5 or CLB 7in French for Canada PR

With Canada tightening its immigration rules, you would have seen the importance of French language proficiency in your application. While backdoor pathways like business diplomas and LMIA points are being scrapped, and Immigration Minister Marc Miller is hinting at more changes to streamline the process and filter out bad actors, French language proficiency is a boon to many candidates. 

The Canadian government’s focus on increasing Francophone immigration is obvious – Quebec, the French-speaking province, contributes to a third of Canadian GDP with about 9 million residents. French can not only extend your current work permit, but it can also propel you to a direct PR by adding up to 74 points to your Express Entry profile and making you eligible for French category draws with CRS in the low ranges of 380-450. 

But what level of French proficiency is needed for Canada’s immigration purposes? Here are the two pathways you can use and the immigration requirements for each: 

• Direct PR via French Category Draws – CLB7

This is a direct Permanent Residency pathway that can get you an ITA basis your French score. For this, you will need the following:

• A valid Express Entry profile: Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Trade Worker Program or Canadian Experience Class 
• A minimum score of 7 as per the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) in the Test d’évaluation de français (TEF) or Test de connaissance du français (TCF) examinations. 
• The CLB 7 (NCLC7) score has to be obtained in all four modules: Compréhension orale (Listening) , Compréhension écrite (Reading) , Expression orale (Speaking), Expression écrite (Writing)
• Once you have CLB 7 in all, you are eligible for French-based ITA (invitation to Apply) draws and this can add up to 74 additional points in your CRS based on other factors in your profile. 

• Work permit extension using the Francophone Mobility Program – CLB 5

As the name suggests, this is not a direct permanent residency program but a way to extend your work permit by up to 2 years in Canada. This will not make you eligible for any ITAs for PR. For this program you will need:

• To live outside Quebec
• To have a valid job offer in Canada 
• To show French language proficiency of CLB 5 or higher in 2 modules: Compréhension orale (Listening) and Expression orale (Speaking).

Note that you cannot obtain a PR using this pathway. Once you get your work permit expanded, you will still need to achieve CLB 7 in the Test d’évaluation de français (TEF) or Test de connaissance du français (TCF) examinations to be eligible for French category PR draws. 

Do you want to crack the TEF Canada/TCF Canada examinations?  Do you wish to know more about courses and learning patterns? You can check our website or book a consultation call with our founder, Ankita Agarwal.