How to Apply for PR via Learning French and Express Entry¶

This blog explains how to apply for permanent residence (PR) in Canada through the Express Entry system by leveraging French-language proficiency category. We will begin with a brief overview of the Express Entry system, and then focus on the eligibility criteria for the Canadian Experience Class program and the French-language proficiency category.

TL;DR:

Check your eligibility for the Express Entry System.
Calculate your CRS score and compare it with the cutoff scores for the French-language proficiency category in recent rounds.
If your score is competitive, you can begin preparing for the French-language proficiency test to meet the minimum criteria for French-language proficiency category.

Overview¶

Brief Introduction of Express Entry¶

Express Entry is the Canadian government's online system for managing skilled worker immigration. In this guide, we will use EE Entry to refer to the Express Entry system.

EE Entry is a score-based system with different immigration programs and selection categories. Understanding both is critical to maximizing your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. In this section, we briefly introduce the Canadian Experience Class and the French-language proficiency category. For more details, see EE Eligibility.

Express Entry

There are three main structural components of EE Entry:

Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS): Calculate your CRS score, which is not only used in eligibility but also used in ranking.
Immigration Programs: Determine your eligibility to enter the EE pool.
Current Categories: Award additional points in targeted rounds or encourage more applications by requiring lower scores.

To begin, you must first qualify for one of the immigration programs, then explore categories to boost your score.

Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)¶

CRS Score System is a key component of EE Entry. It is used to determine candidates' eligibility and rank them in the pool. Here is the official calculator. Generally, young people with relatively good educational backgrounds can easily earn CRS points sufficient to pass the French-language proficiency category.

CRS Calculator

Eligibility for EE Entry and the Three `Immigration programs`¶

Immigration Programs¶

According to the official website, EE Entry includes three immigration programs:

Canadian Experience Class
Federal Skilled Worker Program
Federal Skilled Trades Program

🚀 \(\star\) Eligibility for Immigration Programs¶

Each program has distinct eligibility requirements. Applicants must first identify the one they qualify for to enter the EE pool.

We'll focus on the Canadian Experience Class:

Be in one or more NOC categories: TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3
1. Your experience can be in more than one NOC.
2. See explanation of NOC in the Eligibility of Canadian Experience Class section.
Be gained in Canada while authorized to work under temporary resident status
1. If you worked remotely, you must have been physically in Canada and working for a Canadian employer.
Show that you performed:
1. The actions in the lead statement of the NOC job description
2. Most of the main duties listed
Be paid work (you must have been paid wages or earned commission—volunteer work or unpaid internships don't count)
Be at least 1 year of work or 1,560 hours total (30 hours per week) in the 3 years before you apply

Explanation of the Eligibility of Canadian Experience Class¶

What is NOC and TEER?¶

The National Occupation Classification (NOC) system is used by Canada to classify occupations. The updated NOC uses Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) levels. Only TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 jobs count toward the Canadian Experience Class.

How to Check Your TEER Level?¶

Use the Find your NOC tool to search your job title.
Cross-reference the NOC code in the official NOC website to verify job duties.
If it matches and falls under TEER 0–3, congratulations! You're eligible for CEC.

Example of NOC and TEER¶

Take an example of a Graduate Student in Canada, the NOC code of Post-secondary teaching and research assistants is 41201 with TEER 1 level, as we can see in the NOC Website.

We can then see in the Search Result of NOC Website, Both Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants are included in TEER 1. So if you were serving as a TA or RA in Canada for at least 1 year, you are eligible for Canadian Experience Class Program.

NOC_Code_RA

`Current Categories`¶

All Current Categories¶

Once you're eligible for one of the three programs, you can increase your CRS score through the following six Current categories:

French-language proficiency
Healthcare and social services occupations
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations
Trade occupations
Agriculture and agri-food occupations
Education occupations

This guide focuses on the French-language proficiency category.

🚀 \(\star\) French-language proficiency Category Eligibility¶

Meet the minimum criteria for Express Entry, including being eligible for 1 of the 3 immigration programs it covers
Have French-language test results that show a minimum score of 7 in all 4 language abilities on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens
1. The equivalency between TCFCanada and NCLC is shown in the TCFCanada-NCLC Equivalency section.
Meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round

TCFCanada-NCLC Equivalency¶

TCFCanada is one of the French-language exam used by IRCC to evaluate candidates' French-language proficiency. According to IRCC's official document, the TCFCanada-NCLC Equivalency is as follows:

NCLC level	Speaking	Listening	Reading	Writing
10	16-20	549-699	549-699	16-20
9	14-15	523-548	524-548	14-15
8	12-13	503-522	499-523	12-13
7	10-11	458-502	453-498	10-11
6	7-9	398-457	406-452	7-9
5	6	369-397	375-405	6
4	4-5	331-368	342-374	4-5

🚀 \(\star\) French-language proficiency Category Invitation Procedure¶

When holding a category-based round of invitations, IRCC will:

Rank candidates in the pool who meet the category requirements
Invite top-ranking candidates to apply for permanent residence

For the most up-to-date information, refer to the official category-based selection page.

🚀 \(\star\) Information of French-language proficiency Category in Recent Round¶

As shown by IRCC, IRCC invited 23,500 people in 2024, the highest score of CRS in French-language proficiency category is 478, the lowest score is 336. Generally speaking, if you are eligible for French-language proficiency category and have reasonably good CRS scores, you have a good chance to be invited.

CRS_French

Conclusion¶

The French-language proficiency category has been relatively stable in recent years. If you are eligible for French-language proficiency category and have reasonably good CRS scores, you have a good chance to be invited.

References¶

For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the official IRCC Express Entry website and related documentation. Here are all of the links we referenced in this blog:

Official Government Resources¶

Express Entry - Main portal for Canada's Express Entry immigration system, providing comprehensive information about the application process.
EE Eligibility - Detailed eligibility requirements for all three Express Entry programs.
CRS Calculator - Official tool to calculate your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
Canadian Experience Class - Specific requirements and guidelines for the Canadian Experience Class program.
Category-based Selection - Information about category-based invitation rounds including French-language proficiency category.
Express Entry Rounds - Historical data and statistics of all Express Entry invitation rounds.

NOC and Occupation Classification Tools¶

Find your NOC tool - Government tool to search and identify your National Occupation Classification (NOC) code.
Official NOC website - Complete database of National Occupation Classification codes and job descriptions.
NOC Code 41201 Profile - Specific profile for Post-secondary teaching and research assistants (example used in the blog).