Newcomers rush to learn French to get permanent residence in Canada

He also informs his client that it is a bit of a “moving target.” By the time they learn French and pass the test, Canada could have changed its immigration rules.

Alliance Française Vancouver, a French language school, saw a 200 per cent increase in the number of people taking the French certification exams for PR in 2025. They are looking at similar numbers for 2026.

“Starting [in] 2024, we have seen a really a big push and a change in the certification and a number of the actual activity, I would say, around [the] French language to stay in Canada for immigration purposes,” said Damien Hubert, the director of Alliance Française Vancouver.

Across the country, other French schools have seen similar surges in demand for French certificate exams.

Alliance Française Calgary saw a 51 per cent increase in 2025. And Alliance Française Ottawa saw a 245 per cent increase in exam sessions last year, and expects that to double in 2026. 

Learning a new language

Zanelli Fukino is currently living in Canada on a post-graduation work permit. But it expires in November 2027, and she’s been studying French since last June.

She and her husband are in their mid-40s, which means they are also losing points because of their age.

“I hope that with the French, I will get the points that I need,” she said.

It hasn’t been easy. She first started by purchasing access to a digital platform, which costs $400. While she could practice listening, writing, and grammar, she needed a way to work on her French speaking skills.

So, she began taking private classes twice per week for one hour, at $500 per month. Then, because she was “in a hurry to learn,” she joined a French immersion program for two months, which she would attend from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day ($1,000 in total).

“While studying at night, I was studying in my lunch, during my lunch time, and taking private classes early in the morning. Plus being a mom, plus working and a wife and a human being,” said Zanelli Fukino.

“I put a lot on my plate. And at some point, I was getting closer to a burnout.”

Because she has to spend so much time studying French, she hasn’t been able to spend as much time with her daughter, which has been challenging for both of them.

“I’m going through everything for us to be able to stay here, because this is the country we decided to live, which we love, and which want to stay,” she said.

What’s the purpose?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says that the French-proficiency category is supposed to “support economic growth through Francophone immigration outside of Quebec.”

“A diverse, linguistically competent workforce is a competitive advantage in a global economy,” the IRCC said in an emailed statement to Daily Hive.

But Goldman is skeptical of the actual benefits.

“It doesn’t help the Canadian economy by having a French speaker go to a non-French-speaking part of Canada,” he said.

In his experience, he hasn’t seen people using their French once they come to Canada.

“It’s just a way to get into the country. But it doesn’t help them in any way to adjust to Canadian life or any of that.”

His guess is that “it’s all politics. It looks very good to have French-speaking people going to non-French parts of Canada.”

But Hubert, a French speaker, welcomes this immigration pathway as a “great opportunity for bilingualism.”

“We can be able to use both languages in Canada and Vancouver too. I think it’s great that we can promote bilingualism.”

Meanwhile, Zanelli Fukino has chosen to look at the bright side, even though at first she didn’t enjoy the process of learning a new language.

“If I have to go for French, I will enjoy it, and I don’t want to stop studying French after the certificate, after getting the points, after applying.”

“I want to grow here,” she said. “I want to be the best employee for the country. I want to be an asset, you know. So I think for now, I’m loving the language.”