Quebec selection and immigration
TEF Québec (TEFAQ): format, timings and what it is for
Built for Quebec's own programs, which are assessed against the Échelle québécoise rather than the NCLC scale. Its components are modular: you take only the ones your Quebec program asks for.
Components and timings
| Component | Time | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | 60 min | 40 questions |
| Listening | 40 min | 40 questions |
| Writing | 60 min | 2 tasks |
| Speaking | 15 min | 2 tasks |
- Components: Reading, listening, writing, speaking - taken independently
- Scheduling: Components are modular and can be taken independently.
Quebec does not use the NCLC scale
This is the mistake that costs Quebec candidates the most time. Quebec assesses French against the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français, not against Canada's NCLC. The two systems serve different administrations and are not interchangeable.
Concretely: do not translate “Quebec level 5” into a TEF score by analogy with NCLC 5. Use MIFI's own correspondence tables for your certificate. Quebec's documentation places levels 7 and 8 broadly in the CEFR B2 band, but eligibility should never be derived from the generic CEFR mapping alone.
MIFI accepts TEFAQ, TEF Canada and the generic TEF, as well as TCF variants and DELF/DALF. Results generally have to be no more than two years old when you submit.
Current PSTQ French requirements
PSTQ Stream 1 - highly qualified skills
Oral French level 7+, written French level 5+
PSTQ Stream 2 - intermediate and manual skills
Spoken French level 5+
PSTQ Stream 3 - regulated professions
FEER 0-2: oral 7+ and written 5+. FEER 3-5: spoken 5+
Accompanying spouse
Generally spoken level 4+ where the program specifies it
The Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés replaced the older PRTQ in November 2024, so legacy PRTQ point calculators and guides no longer describe the live system. The Québec Experience Program has also been unusually volatile - announced as ending in November 2025, then temporarily reopened. Check the official MIFI page immediately before filing rather than trusting any guide, including this one.
TEFAQ or TEF Canada?
If you are applying through Quebec, TEFAQ is built for you and its modularity means you pay only for the components your program names. If you are applying federally, you need TEF Canada, taken with all four components on the same day.
They are not administratively interchangeable in every situation. For federal economic immigration IRCC lists TEF Canada and TCF Canada specifically. Quebec is broader and accepts TEFAQ, TEF Canada and generic TEF for applicable programs.
Before you book anything
Confirm the exact certificate your receiving authority wants before you register. A centre advertising “the TEF” may be offering a different variant than the one your program names, and the certificates are not interchangeable. Check fees and registration and results and validity too.
In development
TEF Canada practice is coming
Get early access when TEF practice with AI scoring opens. No spam, one email when it is ready.
- All four skills in real exam format
- Scored on CCI's assessment dimensions
- Results in NCLC, per skill