Canada has run eight French-language Express Entry rounds so far in 2026. The cutoffs for these rounds, and the gap between them and the general rounds, decide who gets an invitation.
This page tracks every French round of the year, what the cutoff was, and what it means for the TEF or TCF score you need. The figures are refreshed automatically after each official IRCC round.
Every French Express Entry round in 2026
| Date | Round | CRS cutoff | Invitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 February | #394 | 400 | 8,500 |
| 4 March | #401 | 397 | 5,500 |
| 18 March | #405 | 393 | 4,000 |
| 15 April | #411 | 419 | 4,000 |
| 29 April | #414 | 400 | 4,000 |
| 28 May | #418 | 409 | 4,500 |
| 9 July | #425 | 420 | 5,000 |
| 22 July | #429 | 399 | 5,000 |
The cutoff has stayed between 393 and 420 across all eight rounds, with invitations per round ranging from 4,000 to 8,500. The lowest cutoff of the year came on 18 March, the highest on 9 July.
What French has actually been worth in 2026
IRCC has run a French round and a Canadian Experience Class round on consecutive days. Same pool, same week, one variable. That gives an unusually clean measure of the French advantage:
| Dates | CEC cutoff | French cutoff | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 and 4 March | 508 | 397 | 111 |
| 17 and 18 March | 507 | 393 | 114 |
| 14 and 15 April | 515 | 419 | 96 |
| 28 and 29 April | 514 | 400 | 114 |
| 27 and 28 May | 518 | 409 | 109 |
| 21 and 22 July | 516 | 399 | 117 |
Across six pairings the gap ran between 96 and 117 points. In practice, strong French has been worth roughly 100 or more CRS points this year, before the 25 or 50 point French bonus that sits on top of it.
How often do French rounds come around?
The gaps between French rounds in 2026 have been four weeks, two weeks, four weeks, two weeks, four weeks, six weeks, then two weeks. That averages about three weeks, but the six-week gap between 28 May and 9 July shows how wide the spread can get. IRCC does not pre-announce dates, so plan against the pattern rather than a calendar.
What score do you actually need?
The gating number is NCLC 7, and it is assessed skill by skill. One weak section holds back the whole result, which is why the useful question is not "what is my level" but "which section is furthest from the bar, and by how many raw points".
On the TEF, NCLC 7 starts at 249 in listening and 207 in reading. On the TCF it starts at 458 in listening and 453 in reading. Writing and speaking are graded separately again.
- Convert your TEF or TCF scores to CLB and see exactly how many points short each skill is.
- Check the full draw tracker for every round, including the general and category-based ones.
- Read how French points work in Express Entry if you are still deciding whether the exam is worth sitting.
- Sit a full timed mock exam if you have not measured yourself under exam conditions yet.
Figures on this page come from IRCC's published rounds of invitations and are refreshed automatically after each French round. Always confirm against the official source before making an application decision.
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