Level 4 knowledge of spoken French, according to the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français, is required of people applying for a Québec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) after accumulating a three-year work stay in Québec.
A transitional measure is implemented to facilitate the transition of temporary foreign workers currently staying in Québec. Verification of knowledge of French will apply to applications for temporary selection sent as of December17, 2028.
Exempt from this requirement are agricultural foreign workers, foreign nationals occupying a job for an office of a political division of a foreign State, and international employees of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) recognized by the Gouvernement du Québec.
For more details, consult the Web news (in French only).
In addition to the Application for temporary selection form, you must provide your employer with the following vouchers so they can follow up your application for temporary selection:
A photocopy of your diplomas and your academic transcripts
You must include a photocopy of our diploma of secondary studies and the academic transcript that corresponds to it.
A photocopy of your proofs of employment
For example:
Contracts of employment containing your job description and the number of working hours per week
Pay slips
Notices of assessment for the social security plan
Your work permit
Any other proof that you have been compensated legally for occupational experience
These proofs of employment serve to prove that your work experience was:
Acquired legally for one year
Acquired over the three years preceding the filing of the application
Compensated
Performed full-time without interruption, during a minimum period of six months with the same employer
Performed in the in-home care provided to:
children
seniors
persons with disabilities; or
in any other related field
OR
A photocopy of the vocational training certificate of competency
The certificate must correspond to the field of employment in which you are hired.
The certificate serves to prove that you took training.
full time
in a vocational school
during a period of at least six months
You must present the diploma and the corresponding academic transcript
A photocopy of your passport
A photocopy of the pages of your passport, including:
your name
your place of birth
your signature
A photocopy of the results of a language test
You must provide the results of a language test or a diploma, in French or English, demonstrating that you have a level of ability equal to or greater than level 4 oral French of the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétences en français (Québec scale of French proficiency) or its equivalent, or level 4 oral English of the Canadian Language Benchmarks.
Note that if you only demonstrated knowledge of English when you arrived in Québec, you must, as of December 17, 2028, demonstrate level 4 oral French after three years in Québec, like all other temporary foreign workers.
French assessment tests and diplomas
The following French assessment tests and diplomas are accepted by the Ministère:
Your results must date back no more than two years from the date you submitted your application for permanent selection. You must provide a complete scan of the results certificate. For the DELF and DALF, a complete scan of the diploma is required.
IMPORTANT! Only the results issued by the providers of these tests (France Éducation international and the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris Île-de-France) are accepted by the Ministère. You must take these tests in a centre accredited by the organization that provides them.
French secondary school diplomas
The following secondary school diplomas are accepted by the Ministère for knowledge of oral French:
General, vocational and technological baccalaureates isseud by the French Ministry of Education
Certificat d’enseignement secondaire supérieur (CESS) issued by the Government of the French-Speaking Community of Belgium
Certificat de maturité issued upon completion of studies at a school in a French-speaking canton of Switzerland
Documents from a professional order
The following documents issued by a professional order are accepted by the Ministère for knowledge of oral French:
Regular permit to practise from a professional order in Québec that is valid or has expired within the last two years
Certificate proving that you passed the Office québécois de la langue française’s French exam for professional orders within the last two years
English assessment tests and diplomas
The following English testes are accepted by the Ministère: