TEF and TCF Canada in India: Test Centres, Fees and Booking

IRCC accepts both TEF Canada and TCF Canada for Express Entry. It says you must book your test with an approved agency and pay the costs yourself. There is no central booking website: you register with a test centre, and the centre sets the dates, the fee and the rules.

• TEF Canada is run by CCI Paris Île-de-France (Le français des affaires). Its registration page says fees are set by the test centre. Find centres with the official TEF finder.
• TCF Canada is run by France Éducation international (FEI). FEI says to contact the nearest approved centre for dates, the registration steps, paper or computer format, and the fee. See FEI's list of TCF centres in India.

The two lists are not the same. New Delhi and Bangalore appear on FEI's TCF list but not in the TEF finder. Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai run TEF Canada, and FEI does not list them for the TCF. So in India, the city you live in can decide which test you take.

Frenchly is not affiliated with any test centre, CCI Paris or France Éducation international. Fees, dates and rules change often. Everything on this page was read on official pages on 2 November 2026. Always book through the centre's own page.

These are the 12 centres the official finder listed for TEF Canada in India. Fees and dates are as each centre published them. "Not published" means we could not find it on the centre's page: ask the centre.

Lucknow's page says the TEF Canada fee is the same at every Alliance Française in India. Kolkata prices each module separately, so check the total before you pay. The four modules there add up to ₹26,000.

For Express Entry you need results in all four skills. Some centres also sell TEFaQ or other TEF versions. Make sure the session you book says TEF Canada.

France Éducation international lists seven TCF centres in India. The list covers every TCF version, so check that your centre runs TCF Canada.

Alliance Française de Delhi says it conducts only the TCF Canada exam. It asks for a valid passport and says other photo IDs are not accepted.

Of the centres that published a full price on 2 November 2026, every one charged ₹26,000 including 18% GST, for TEF Canada and for TCF Canada. That is the full test with all four skills. Several centres publish no fee, so confirm before you pay.

• Fees are usually not refunded. New Delhi, Bhopal and Trivandrum say so on their pages. Read the rule before you pay.
• Changing your date costs extra or is not possible. Kolkata offers a TCF postponement of up to 3 months for ₹13,000, for sessions from January 2027. Ask your centre what it allows.
• Add travel. If your city has no centre, or no seats, the nearest centre with a free date may be in another state. Count the train or flight and a night's stay.
• A retake is a new booking at the full fee. Jaipur says so on its page.

1. 1Choose the test, and check it runs near you. IRCC treats both tests the same way: both convert to the NCLC scale. Compare formats in TEF vs TCF Canada, then look at the two tables above. In India, a free seat often matters more than the format.
2. 2Open the centre's official page. Note the fee, the next dates, when registration opens and the refund rule. The step-by-step guides for booking TEF Canada and booking TCF Canada list what to compare.
3. 3Be ready on the day registration opens. New Delhi takes TCF bookings first come, first served. Jaipur deletes a TEF pre-registration if you do not reply within 24 hours. Chandigarh gives you 3 days once your turn comes on the waiting list.
4. 4Have your passport ready. Many centres ask for a scan of the first and last pages of your passport. Mumbai also asks for PAN and Aadhaar. Your registration name must match your ID exactly.
5. 5Pay and keep the proof. Several centres ask you to email a payment screenshot with the UTR or UPI number. Your seat is usually confirmed only after payment.
6. 6Plan for the result time. Published times range from 7 to 14 days (Jaipur, Chandigarh and Trivandrum for TEF) to 4 to 8 weeks (Bhopal for TCF). Count this before your Express Entry deadline.

• TCF Canada retake: France Éducation international says you can take the test as many times as you want, but must wait 20 days between attempts. Bhopal's page says 30 days, so ask your centre.
• TEF Canada retake: Indian centres publish different rules: 20 days at Chandigarh and Trivandrum, 30 days at Hyderabad, Jaipur and Kolkata. Check your centre's rule before you book a second date.
• TCF results: FEI says results reach your TCF-Candidat account and the centre within 15 working days after it receives the session material. Your result certificate is downloaded from that account.
• TCF re-marking is paused. FEI says requests to re-mark writing and speaking are not accepted for sessions from 1 September 2026, and it plans to restart the service in autumn 2027.
• Validity: IRCC says results must be less than 2 years old when you create your Express Entry profile and when you apply for permanent residence. See how long TEF and TCF results are valid.

After your result arrives, convert it with the NCLC calculator for an estimate. Only your official certificate and IRCC's tables count.

With waiting lists and full sessions, many candidates in India book weeks or months ahead. Use that time on the exact format. Start with a free practice test for TEF Canada or TCF Canada, then read the TEF Canada format or TCF Canada format guide.