How many CRS points is French worth for Express Entry?

NCLC 7 or higher in all four French skills is worth 50 additional CRS points if you also have CLB 5 or higher English, or 25 additional points if your English is CLB 4 or lower or untested. Separately, it makes you eligible for French-language category draws.

Is learning French faster than improving my English score?

Usually not. If your English is below CLB 9, retaking IELTS or CELPIP is far cheaper and faster than 600 to 900 hours of French. Improve English first, then consider French for the category draws.

When is learning French not worth it for Express Entry?

If your CRS score is already competitive, if you have an imminent deadline such as an expiring status, or if you have not yet maximised your English test score. French is a 12 to 18 month project from zero and should not be started in place of faster fixes.

Guide

Is learning French worth it for Express Entry?

We sell French exam preparation, so treat this page accordingly — and then read the section where we tell you not to bother.

The arithmetic

What you get at NCLC 7	Condition
50 extra CRS points	With CLB 5 or higher English in all four abilities
25 extra CRS points	With CLB 4 or lower English, or no English test
Category draw eligibility	French-language proficiency draws

The third row is worth more than the first two combined. French-language category draws have repeatedly issued invitations at cut-offs well below general draws — in 2025 broadly in the high 300s to low 400s.

Points, categories and cut-offs change, sometimes at short notice. Confirm the current rules on the official IRCC website. This is exam preparation, not immigration advice.

The cost, stated honestly

From no French to NCLC 7 in all four skills is commonly put at 600–900 hours. That is 12–18 months at 8–12 hours a week, or eight to nine months if you can give it twenty.

From an existing B1 — you studied French at school and can hold a simple conversation — it is more like three to five months.

So the real question is not "is French valuable". It obviously is. The question is whether it is the best use of the next year of your evenings, compared with the alternatives.

Three cases where the answer is no

Your English test is not maxed out. If you are sitting at CLB 8 in English, retaking IELTS or CELPIP costs a few hundred dollars and a few weeks. Going from CLB 8 to CLB 9 across the board can move your CRS meaningfully. Do the cheap thing first. Every time.
You are already competitive. If your score clears recent general-draw cut-offs comfortably, a year of French is a year you did not need to spend.
You have a hard deadline. An expiring work permit or status in six months is not enough runway from zero. French is a project, not a patch.

We would rather say this plainly than sell a subscription to someone whose better move is a retake.

Two cases where it is clearly worth it

Your score is stuck below the general cut-off and English is already maxed. This is the situation French was designed for. The category draw is the difference between waiting indefinitely and being invited.
You already have some French. If you are at B1, NCLC 7 is a few months away, not a few years. The return per hour is unusually high, and most people in this position badly underestimate how close they are.

The part nobody mentions

You need NCLC 7 in all four skills separately — listening, reading, writing and speaking. Not an average. Three sevens and a five is a five.

This is where most of the failures happen. People prepare the skills they enjoy, average themselves in their head, book the test, and lose on the one they avoided. It is almost always speaking, because it is the only one you cannot practise passively.

If you take one thing from this page: measure all four before you book.

If you have decided it is worth it

Start where you actually are. If you have no French, exam papers are the wrong first step — read this instead. If you already have some, the fastest thing you can do this week is measure all four skills honestly and find out which one is going to be the problem.

Start your 3-day trial How long it takes from your level

Learning French from zero for Express Entry
How long does NCLC 7 take?
TCF Canada or TEF Canada?
Am I ready to book?
NCLC 4 — the milestone to aim at before NCLC 7.