TEF Canada and TCF Canada in Abidjan: how the two-day inscription window works

If you live in Côte d’Ivoire and need French for Express Entry, you take your test at the Institut français de Côte d’Ivoire in Abidjan. It runs both TEF Canada and TCF Canada, at the same price. What makes Abidjan different is not the exam. It is the inscription: each session opens for two days only, and the places can be gone in hours. This guide walks you from “où passer le TCF Canada en Côte d’Ivoire ?” to a confirmed place.

150,000 FCFA

TEF Canada or TCF Canada, 4 tests

2 days

Length of each inscription window

08:00 GMT

When the platform opens on day one

It is the only centre in the country we know of, and the only one we track there. The Côte d’Ivoire centres page shows its live status. IRCC treats a result from Abidjan exactly like one taken in Canada, as long as it is the Canada version with all four skills from the same sitting.

The institute publishes a calendrier sessions with two date ranges for each exam: the période d’inscription (two days) and the période de la session (the week or weeks when the exam runs). The platform says it opens “dès le premier jour à 8h” and warns that places go fast. No inscription is possible outside these periods.

The pattern is clear: a window on a Monday–Tuesday, an exam period about four weeks later, and TEF and TCF windows on different weeks. When we checked on 22 October 2026, no new Canada window was on the calendar yet; the institute says more sessions are being scheduled. Every window we detect appears on TEF Canada dates in Côte d’Ivoire and TCF Canada dates in Côte d’Ivoire.

Côte d’Ivoire is on GMT all year, with no summer time. In Abidjan, 08:00 is simply 08:00. If you are elsewhere, for example a candidate living in Lagos, Paris or Montréal who wants to sit the exam at home, convert it first.

1. 1Create your account before the windowOn examens.institutfrancais.ci, use your own email address. Each candidate needs a separate one, so don’t share an address with a friend or family member.
2. 2Pre-register at 08:00 on day oneClick “S’inscrire à une session”, choose TEF Canada or TCF Canada and the session, and check that all four tests are selected.
3. 3Download your formYour confirmation email contains the registration form. Check your name against your ID and the tests you chose.
4. 4Pay at an SGCI branch within 48 hoursPay 150,000 FCFA by cash deposit at an SGCI (ex-SGBCI) branch. If you got your place from the waiting list, you have 24 hours.
5. 5Send your proof of paymentFollow the instructions in your confirmation email. Without the proof, your registration is not validated.
6. 6Wait for two emailsA payment confirmation within 48 hours, then your exam notice (convocation) no later than one week before the session. Check your spam folder.

The institute shows a banner on its own platform about the proof of payment: “Preuve de paiement non reçue = inscription non validée.” Many candidates pay and forget this step. Do it the same day you pay.

• Original ID: national ID card, passport or residence card. Photocopies and identity attestations are not accepted.
• Your convocation, which tells you the day and time of each test.
• No photo to bring: for TCF Canada and TEF Canada, your photo is taken on the day.
• Arrive 30 minutes early. Late candidates are not admitted.

Use the same name and ID at inscription and on the day. If you plan to use your passport for your Express Entry profile, register with your passport details. The full list for any centre is in documents for exam day.

IRCC accepts both and converts them to the same NCLC levels, so pick on format and timing. If your Express Entry deadline is close, the TCF’s faster results matter. Compare the formats in TEF vs TCF Canada, and find the score you need per skill with the target score calculator. Neither test has an overall pass mark.

• Waiting list: if a place frees up, you get an email and an SMS, then 24 hours to pay. After a week without a place, register for another session.
• Absent with a reason: send an accepted justification at least 48 hours before the test day and you can re-register for the same test within 5 months without paying again.
• Absent without a reason: no refund.
• Retaking: leave at least 20 days between two attempts at the same test (some older documents still say 30), and retake all four tests. See the retake rules.

If the next Abidjan window is weeks away and you can travel, look at the alternatives below. If you want more ideas, read our sold-out strategy guide.

Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria are ECOWAS members, so citizens can usually travel between them without a visa. Dakar is the closest match: same currency, same fee for TCF Canada, but a very different booking method. Details for each are in TEF and TCF Canada in Ghana, Kenya and Senegal and TEF and TCF Canada in Nigeria.