Understand the language test rules

Many people coming to France must sign a CIR, and this involves an assessment of their language level. Under the latest rules, newcomers signing this will be offered free language training if their level is less than A2.

Anyone who then applies for a carte de séjour pluriannuelle (multi-year residency card) will have to prove they have reached European level A2, by showing a certificate unless they are 65+ or have a health condition making it impossible (adaptations can also be requested, if relevant).

In most cases they need to arrange to take a test at a local centre, with certain exceptions including those who have already obtained a recognised diploma after studying in France in French (e.g. a French degree).

Those not meeting this requirement will only obtain another one-year carte de séjour, but these cannot now be renewed more than three times. A VLS-TS counts as a first ‘card’.

Anyone exempt from the CIR (e.g. passport talent) is not affected. Note that this means that close family members of French citizens applying for multi-year vie privée et familiale cards are, therefore, affected by the language rules, but close family of EU – but not French – citizens are not as there is no CIR requirement for them.

Over-65s are also exempt from having to pass a language test (or civic test).

The 2024 immigration law, which sets these rules, also says anyone applying for the first time for a 10-year carte de résident should  show level B1 and applicants for citizenship should show B2.

The exemption for over-65s for all cartes de résident is maintained.

People are not excluded from the rules on disability grounds but may ask for test adaptations, or to be excluded if they have a medical certificate stating that their condition makes it impossible for them to take a test.

A further rule from the 2024 law states that anyone applying for a first multi-year card or first 10-year card must pass a ‘civic’ test. This will also be paid for, however, a list of test centres has not yet been provided.

Separate tests will be set for a multi-year card or carte de résident and an 80% pass is required in these tests, which will be in a multiple choice format.

Language schools and the different options

Accepted French tests, costing about €150, include a certification of level, valid for two years, or a diploma of French as a foreign language (valid indefinitely).

The former includes the TCF or the TEF, which assess for several levels at once, depending on the sophistication and precision of answers given. Diplomas are valid for life, the most common is Delf.

This is taken at a specific target level, which you can pass or fail. Test centres can be found here or, for TEF here.

All tests involve written and listening comprehension – usually with multiple-choice answers, a one-to-one oral exam and having to write short passages.

Some centres and candidates report diplomas being slightly more complex than certifications, especially in the written part, but the tests are otherwise similar.

If you take a diploma and fail, you get nothing, whereas a certification can assess from level A1 up.

The main form of TCF test used for these purposes, called TCF IRN (intégration, résidence, nationalité), certifies up to B2, and test centres all now offer diplomas at the new levels: A2 for multi-year cards or B1 for resident’s cards (B2 will be needed to apply for French nationality, up from B1).

One consideration before booking a test is to ask if the written part is on a computer or on paper and, if on a computer, whether a French Azerty keyboard layout must be used or whether a Qwerty option is possible. The latter is more familiar to UK and US nationals. This varies by centre, however the Delf as of 2025 is handwritten.

The European language levels are A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2, from very basic to the level of a native-speaker graduate.

Ofii’s then deputy general director, Fabrice Blanchard, said: “Level A2 is still quite basic.

“The government and lawmakers have decided that A2 is the minimum for the CIR and the multi-year card.

“A2 seems to me the minimum and when you look at other European countries, the level asked for, where there are similar schemes, is A2, or even B1, not A1.”

He also told us of the changes to providing most language lessons via an automated website from summer 2025, saying: “There are already many other similar platforms that exist, where you can learn a language on your computer or smartphone, 24 hours a day. You have no teacher in front of you, but you progress through your training at your own speed.”

He added: “This is not a budget-related decision. It comes out of our reflections on the way people learn French. We get a lot of working people, and being obliged to follow in-person lessons can be difficult for them. More and more workers can’t follow the obligatory lessons. So, this is responding to a need.”

After one year, those that need it can access other language training, for example via lessons financed by the Interior Ministry, France Travail or the regional councils.

Anyone with a disability that could affect their ability to take the test or elements of it is invited to obtain a medical certificate from a French doctor detailing it. It should be given to the centre where you plan to take a test, at least two months before. It will plan any necessary adaptations.

In extreme cases, it might be possible for a person to be exempted from a part of the test that poses too many problems.

Otherwise, possible adaptations include being given more time for the test, taking the test alone in a quiet room away from other candidates, having an assistant to accompany them, or having technical aids such as headphones or, eg. for those with visual difficulties, a test with large print.

Braille tests exist for blind people.

Personal experience of a language test

American resident in France Peyman Pejman, who is self-taught in French, gave The Connexion his tips after he experienced taking the Delf exam at several levels.

A few years ago Mr Pejman passed A2 with an overall grade of more than 80%; then he did the same at B1. He then focused on improving his French skills before attempting B2.

The real surprise came in the writing test.

“In the B1 exam, my grade for production d’écrit was 23/25. Imagine my surprise when the grade plummeted to 5/25 in B2! Still, I was pleased that I had passed the B2 as a whole.

“I asked for a meeting, making it clear that I was not contesting the examiner’s judgement, I just wanted to learn what I had done wrong so I could improve when time comes for C1. The examiners told me that in B1, it is acceptable to write the way you think or speak, as long as the grammar, vocabulary, and syntax are correct. In B2, however, examiners judge a text based on how a French person would write it. In other words, you must be thinking like a French person who learned writing like a French person.