Canada's Francophone Mobility route for Nigerians: intermediate French, no LMIA

This is the pack behind the SPEAK video, from the Rekoja desk in Lagos. 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 level and the test
• Talking to an employer, need the words
• Want 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. 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.

The money, in naira

Sources: the employer page above and IRCC fee list, work permit (work permit $155 per person; biometrics $85 per individual, $170 maximum per family).

The level and the test

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 TEF Canada or TCF Canada result showing NCLC 5 or higher in speaking and listening, or a diploma from a programme delivered entirely in French. Source: the eligibility page above; 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, which in Nigeria sit inside the Alliance Française network (Lagos, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jos, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Enugu) and the Institut français in Abuja. Some centres offer a TEF Canada sitting for speaking and listening only. 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

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, commonly issued for the length of the job offer up to two or three years. Canadian work experience plus French language ability counts toward Express Entry through the Canadian Experience Class and the French-language proficiency category draws, which have run at lower scores than general draws. Sources: Express Entry rounds of invitations. This page does not promise permanent residence; it describes the ladder.

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. Her outcome at month nine: an accounting technician offer in Winnipeg at C$52,000, about ₦50.9m a year; the employer pays C$230 and submits the offer; 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 eligible, 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.

Naira figures on this page use the Rekoja pipeline rate of 12 September 2026 (CAD 979.28).