Why a Nigerian sits a French test
Picture an engineer in Kano with a decent IELTS result, an Express Entry profile and a score that sits stubbornly below the cut-offs. She has done what everyone around her did: polished her English, gathered her documents, waited.
What she has not done is the one thing very few of her competitors in the pool will do either. She has not sat a French test.
I think French is the most underused lever a Nigerian applicant has, and the reason is easy to see. Nigeria is an English-speaking country whose neighbours on every land border have French as an official language, yet for most applicants French stays something other people speak, not a strategy.
IRCC treats it as a strategy.
Three doors French opens
In Express Entry, a candidate who reaches NCLC 7 or higher in all four French abilities earns additional points, on top of what English already earns you.
- if their English is CLB 4 or lower, or if they took no English test
- +25
- if their English is also CLB 5 or higher in all four abilities
- +50
There is a second door. French-language proficiency is one of IRCC’s Express Entry categories, and its condition is the same bar: NCLC 7 or higher in all four abilities. A category round invites only candidates who meet its condition, so the field is smaller than the general pool.
And there is a third, for those with a job offer. Francophone Mobility is a work permit for French speakers hired to work in Canada outside Quebec, and IRCC asks for intermediate speaking and listening, NCLC 5 or higher, with an employer who has made the offer through its portal.
| NCLC | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 458–502 | 453–498 | 10–11 | 10–11 |
| 5 | 369–397 | 375–405 | 6 | 6 |
Notice what NCLC 7 in all four means.
Not an average. Not three strong sections carrying a weak one.
A 10 in speaking and a 9 in writing is NCLC 6 in writing, and the additional points are gone. Every plan for this exam should start from that sentence.
Two centres, both in the south
France Éducation international (FEI), which runs the TCF, lists two TCF centres in Nigeria as of 25 October 2026: the Alliance française de Lagos and the Alliance française de Port Harcourt.
When this guide was first written, the list held only Lagos. FEI’s list is the one to trust, and it changes, so check it before you plan anything around it.
- FEI marks it as offering sessions on computer.
- Its own page describes its TCF Canada as computer-based.
- FEI marks no computer option.
- Its page lists the TCF Canada among the versions of the TCF it presents.
Either way, the speaking test is the same: FEI says every part of the TCF can be taken on computer except speaking, which happens face to face with an examiner.
- Lagos · TCF centre on FEI’s list, computer sessions available
- Port Harcourt · TCF centre on FEI’s list
- Abuja · for orientation: no centre on FEI’s list
- Kano · for orientation: no centre on FEI’s list
Look at the map and the problem is plain. There is no centre on FEI’s list in Abuja, in Kano, in Ibadan or in Enugu.
If you live anywhere north of the coast, the TCF Canada begins with a journey: a flight or a long road, a night somewhere, a morning in an unfamiliar part of town. Lagos and Port Harcourt candidates have it easier, and they still have to fit a full day around a test of two hours and 47 minutes.
The journey changes the maths
The common advice on forums is to book early and let the date frighten you into studying. In Nigeria I think that advice is wrong.
FEI lets you sit the TCF Canada as often as you like, with 20 days between two sittings of this version, and in a city with a centre around the corner a first attempt as a rehearsal is a defensible choice. From Kano it is not. Every attempt carries the test fee, the travel and the days away, and the next free seat may be weeks off.
- between two sittings of the TCF Canada
- 20 days
- for results, once FEI receives the session’s material
- 15 working days
- when FEI plans to resume re-marking
- Autumn 2027
Re-marking and results
Two more rules make a rehearsal costlier than it used to be. FEI no longer accepts requests to re-mark speaking and writing for sessions from 1 September 2026; it calls the suspension temporary and plans to resume the service in autumn 2027. Until then, the mark you get for those two sections is the mark you keep.
And results arrive within 15 working days of FEI receiving the session’s material, so you may not learn that you need a second attempt until weeks after the first.
So my advice runs the other way.
Practise until your practice scores sit at NCLC 7 in all four sections, consistently, then book.
Use the wait for a date to keep them there. If a section fails you anyway, read our guides on the 20-day wait and on the suspension of re-marking before you decide when to go back.
What to ask the centre
FEI leaves the dates, the registration, the format and the price to each centre, and tells you to contact the one nearest you.
That makes the first email to the centre the most important piece of admin in the whole process. These are the questions I would put in it.
| Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Do you hold TCF Canada sessions, and on which dates? | FEI lists TCF centres, and a centre may run several versions of the TCF. Only the TCF Canada counts for IRCC. |
| When does registration open and close? | Seats are few. Knowing the window is worth more than knowing the date. |
| On paper or on computer? | FEI marks the computer option at Lagos only. Practise in the format you will sit. |
| At which branch does the session take place? | An Alliance can have more than one site in a city. Plan the journey to the right one. |
| Which identity document do I bring? | The centre decides what it accepts at the door. Ask, then bring exactly that. |
| How do I receive my results and my attestation? | FEI puts the attestation in your TCF-Candidat space; Lagos says its printed certificate is collected at the centre. From another city, that is one more trip to plan. |
| What does it cost, and what if I need to change my date? | Fees and transfer rules are the centre’s and they change, so we never print them. |
| Can you arrange adjustments for a disability? | FEI has a procedure for it; the centre needs to know in advance. |
Before you book: the dates that matter
The TCF Canada attestation is valid for two years from the date the results are issued, says FEI. IRCC, for its part, wants your results less than two years old both when you create your Express Entry profile and when you submit your application for permanent residence.
That cuts both ways, and the second way is the one candidates forget.
- You miss draws you could have been in.
- Before the rest of your file is ready, the clock may run out between invitation and application.
If you are still waiting on an educational credential assessment or a job letter, factor that in before you pick a date.
Preparing while you wait
The weeks between booking and the session are the part you control, and the honest way to spend them is under exam conditions.
A candidate who has only ever read French will be surprised by the listening clock; one who has only ever written will be surprised by how short 12 minutes of speaking feels with a stranger across the table.
That is what Salut Canada is built for. You practise the four sections in the exam’s own formats:
- listening and reading as full series on the exam’s clock,
- the writing tasks within their limits,
- and the speaking test aloud with an examiner that runs the three tasks at the exam’s timings.
Your study plan adapts to your results and your exam date.
Sources
France Éducation international: list of TCF centres (Nigeria); TCF Canada page. Alliance française de Lagos: TCF Canada page. Alliance française de Port Harcourt: TCF page. IRCC: Comprehensive Ranking System criteria (additional points for French); language test results and equivalency charts; Express Entry category-based selection; Francophone Mobility eligibility. Natural Earth (map outline). Checked on 25 October 2026.