Canada's Francophone Mobility route for Nigerians: intermediate French, no LMIA
Updated on 18 October 2026.
This is the pack behind the SPEAK video, from Rekoja. It gives you the rule on Canada's own page, the level in plain words, a nine-month plan from zero French, the test that proves the level, and the exact wording that tells a Canadian employer they can hire you without the labour market test.
Which of these is you
- Score stuck in the 400s, want the plan from zero
- Already have some French, want the French level and the test
- Talking to an employer, need the words
- Want the French draw and the permanent residence picture
The rule, in Canada's words
An employer in any of the nine provinces or three territories outside Quebec can hire a French-speaking foreign worker without a Labour Market Impact Assessment if the candidate can speak and listen in French at an intermediate level, NCLC 5 or higher. The employer submits the offer of employment through the government's Employer Portal under LMIA exemption code C16 (Mobilité Francophone) and pays a $230 employer compliance fee, then gives the worker a seven-digit offer number to apply with (page details 28 April 2026). Source: How to hire a French-speaking or bilingual foreign worker to work in Canada outside Quebec.
The job can be in any TEER category of Canada's occupational classification, with primary agriculture in TEER 4 and 5 excluded; the job itself does not need to require French. Sources: Francophone Mobility work permit: check if you can apply and Francophone Mobility work permit, which shows the permit's status as Open and the fee as $155 (page details 5 March 2026).
The money, in naira
| Item | Figure | About | Who pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer compliance fee | C$230 | ₦216,000 | Employer |
| Work permit application fee | C$155 | ₦145,000 | You |
| Fingerprints and photo (biometrics) | C$85 | ₦80,000 | You |
| Labour Market Impact Assessment | not required | ₦0 | Nobody |
Your side is C$155 and C$85, C$240 in all, about ₦225,000. Sources: the employer page above (the $230 fee, page details 28 April 2026), the Francophone Mobility page above (the $155 fee, page details 5 March 2026) and Canada's fee list (biometrics $85 per individual, as at 7 October 2026).
The French level and the test
Canada measures French on its own scale of levels (NCLC). NCLC 5 in speaking and listening is intermediate: you can hold a conversation about your work, follow a meeting, ask and answer questions with some fluency. It is roughly the B1 level of the European scale. Writing and reading are not assessed for this permit. Proof is a result from one of the French tests Canada accepts, the Test d'évaluation de français (TEF) or the Test de connaissance du français (TCF), showing NCLC 5 or higher in speaking and listening, or a written confirmation from a college or university for a programme in French. Canada's page says: "You must submit documents that prove you can speak and listen at an NCLC level 5 or higher." Source: Francophone Mobility work permit: how to apply (page details 21 April 2026); proof of French is uploaded with the application.
The TEF is run by the Paris Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce (Le français des affaires) through accredited centres, listed on its own site. Sources: Le français des affaires, accredited test centres and Campus France Nigeria, learning French in Nigeria. Confirm the next Nigerian sitting with the centre directly before booking; dates and fees are set locally.
The nine-month plan
| Month | Move |
|---|---|
| 1 | Register at a French centre near you for the A1 course, three classes a week; add ten minutes a day on a free app |
| 2 | Finish A1; start listening to Radio-Canada podcasts on the commute, even without understanding |
| 3 | A2 course; one conversation partner online twice a week |
| 4 | Finish A2; begin describing your own job in French, daily, out loud |
| 5 | B1 course; mock speaking tests with a tutor |
| 6 | Book the TEF Canada; register on the Express Entry profile if not already there (French points count there too) |
| 7 | Sit the test, speaking and listening first |
| 8 | CV in English with the Francophone Mobility line at the top; applications to employers outside Quebec in your field |
| 9 | Interviews; send the three sentences below to any employer who hesitates |
The three sentences for an employer
Send these, in English, to any Canadian employer outside Quebec who says "we can't sponsor" or "we don't do LMIAs":
I qualify for Canada's Francophone Mobility work permit (LMIA exemption code C16), so you would not need a Labour Market Impact Assessment to hire me. You would submit an offer of employment through the IRCC Employer Portal and pay the $230 compliance fee; I would then apply for the permit with the offer number. The government's page for employers is here: canada.ca, "How to hire a French-speaking or bilingual foreign worker to work in Canada outside Quebec".
Most employers have never heard the words. You teach them, and the page does the rest.
After the permit
A Francophone Mobility permit is employer-specific. Canadian work experience plus French language ability counts toward Express Entry through the Canadian Experience Class and the French-language proficiency category draws. Nobody can promise you permanent residence, including us; only Canada decides. This page describes the ladder.
The French draw, two levels higher
On 16 October 2026 Canada's French draw (draw 450, French-language proficiency, 2026-Version 2) invited 5,000 people to apply to live in Canada for good (permanent residence), at a points score (CRS) of 435. The previous French draw, on 19 August 2026, invited 5,000 at 382, so the score moved 53 points in two months. Draws move, so nobody plans a life on one.
That draw asks for French results with "a minimum score of 7 in all 4 language abilities" (NCLC 7 in speaking, listening, reading and writing). The Francophone Mobility work permit asks for NCLC 5 in speaking and listening only: two skills, two levels lower. Sources: Express Entry rounds of invitations and category-based selection (page details 16 October 2026).
A worked example
Amaka, 31, HND Accounting, six years in a Lagos firm, Express Entry score 430. Costs across nine months: Alliance Française fees for three levels, the TEF Canada fee, a tutor for month five, all confirmed with the centre on the day; then C$155 and C$85 to the Canadian government when an offer arrives. What Amaka aims for at month nine: offers from employers outside Quebec in accounting. When one comes, the employer pays C$230 and submits the offer, and she applies with the seven-digit number. Her husband may be able to apply for an open work permit; Canada's own page says spouses and dependent children of Francophone Mobility permit holders may be able to apply, subject to the family work permit rules. Source: Francophone Mobility work permit: after you apply.
Who this is not for
- Anyone who wants Quebec: Quebec runs its own system; this rule is for the rest of Canada.
- Farm labour: excluded.
- Anyone expecting the employer to find them: the employer must exist first; the French makes you hireable, it does not make the job appear.
What quietly kills applications
- Testing writing and reading you did not need, and delaying the speaking practice you did.
- Sitting the test at A2 to "see".
- Applying to Quebec employers.
- Letting an employer say "we don't sponsor" without sending the three sentences.
Questions people ask (from the official pages)
Does the job have to require French? No; your French is the reason for the exemption, not the job's.
Do I need NCLC 5 in all four skills? No; speaking and listening only.
Can the employer be anywhere? Any province or territory except Quebec.
Before you go
Nine months of evenings, then the easiest hire in Canada. Register for A1 this week.
Rekoja's desk
Paid help with your papers. You see the price first.
- Get your documents out
- Prepare your application with you
- Talk it through with Rekoja's desk
Refused a visa? See Refusal Rescue on Rekoja's desk. What Rekoja's desk does not do: give anyone in the UK advice about an immigration case, their own or a family member's. No result is promised: only Canada decides your permit.
Naira figures on this page use the rate of 17 October 2026 (C$1 = ₦937.67, open.er-api.com), rounded.