fide or DELF: which French exam to take in Geneva

Which test do you need?

Here are three situations.

• A residence permit or Swiss citizenship. The State Secretariat for Migration recommends the fide test for this. Before you book anything, ask the office that handles your file which certificate it accepts for your case.
• University or a diploma that stays valid. The University of Geneva (opens in a new tab) waives the basic part of its French exam for a DELF B2 or a DALF C1 or C2 with a minimum score, a TEF at B2, or a TCF at B2 with its extra tests, if the result is from the four years before your semester starts. The Faculty of Humanities still requires an extra writing test.
• You are not sure. Ask whoever requests the certificate which tests they accept and which level they want. A wrong test can cost you the exam fee and the waiting time.

What Geneva asks for

These are the levels on the canton's pages, which I read in October 2026. Levels follow the European scale (A1 to C2), and the spoken and written levels are asked for separately.

• Settlement permit (C) after 5 or 10 years: A2 spoken and A1 written, from the canton's page on language requirements (opens in a new tab) (in French).
• Early settlement permit (C) after 5 years: B1 spoken and A1 written.
• Ordinary naturalization: B1 spoken and A2 written, with a certificate that follows fide standards, from the canton's page on applying (opens in a new tab) (in French).

For permits, native French speakers are exempt from the language proof, and so are people who attended compulsory school in French for at least three years or completed upper secondary or higher education in French. The canton lists a few other cases. The certificate must be recognized by the Confederation. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) keeps that list and updates it every few months, and you can find it on the fide website (opens in a new tab). Rules change, so confirm with your office before you register.

fide, DELF and TCF side by side

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Sources: the fide test page (opens in a new tab), the federal list of recognized certificates (edition of October 1, 2026, which states the TCF conditions in its footnotes), the fide FAQ (opens in a new tab), the ifage DELF page (opens in a new tab), and the Swiss Exams TCF page (opens in a new tab) (in French). The validity of DELF and TCF results is as stated by Campus France, the French agency for study abroad. For Swiss procedures the fide FAQ says that recognized certificates are valid for life in principle, and that an authority can still ask for a new one if your result is old and it doubts your current level.

The fide test

The fide test was developed for the State Secretariat for Migration, and its tasks relate to everyday situations in Switzerland. It is available in French, German and Italian.

The oral part takes about 40 minutes. According to the model test, you sit face to face with an examiner, and a second examiner observes. The speaking tasks include, for example, describing a picture, a simulated phone call to book or cancel an appointment, and talking about habits and experiences. In the listening tasks a computer plays short texts, and you answer by pointing to the right picture or by speaking. The written part takes 60 minutes, with reading and writing tasks such as filling in a form or answering an email.

You can take both parts or only one. You register directly with an accredited center, which tells you its conditions and deadlines. About four weeks after the test you receive the Swiss language passport by post, with your level in each part (A1, A2 or B1).

The fide website (opens in a new tab) lists the accredited centers in Geneva. The fide website states CHF 250 for the full test, CHF 170 for the oral part alone and CHF 120 for the written part alone. Check the price and the dates with your center, since some centers may show no sessions at the moment.

The federal list currently marks the fide test as provisionally recognized, because the body responsible for it has committed to obtaining an international quality label (the ALTE Q-Mark) by the end of 2029. It remains on the list.

The DELF

The DELF is a diploma, and you sit it level by level: A1, A2, B1 or B2. It tests the four skills, and a passed DELF does not expire. It is the option to look at if you need B2, which is above the B1 that the standard fide test measures, or a diploma that does not expire.

In Geneva, ifage is an approved DELF center, and has been since 1994. The delfdalf.ch (opens in a new tab) site lists the Swiss centers.

Why I recommend fide over TCF for permits and naturalization

The TCF is on the federal list. For a permit or naturalization in Geneva I still point people to fide, for these reasons.

• fide was built for Swiss procedures. It comes from the State Secretariat for Migration, which recommends it for naturalization and for residence and settlement permits. It tests situations you meet in Switzerland, and it gives the Swiss language passport.
• The TCF is more complicated for this purpose. The federal list counts the TCF Tout Public only if you also sit the two extra tests, one oral and one written. The three compulsory papers do not test speaking or writing. The TCF DAP has no speaking test, so you would need a second certificate for your spoken level. With fide, speaking, listening, reading and writing are all part of the one test.
• The TCF IRN also appears on the federal list. If an office asks you for a TCF by name, follow what it says.

This is my advice as a teacher. The office that handles your file has the final word.

How I prepare you for fide or DELF

We start with the free first lesson. You tell me which test you need, at which level and when. I check where you are today, and I tell you how much work I think lies ahead before your date.

• The real tasks. We work from the fide model test and from the published DELF sample papers, so the tasks on the day are familiar.
• Listening. You work through recordings like the ones in the test, and we go over what you missed and why.
• Speaking aloud. You practice the oral tasks with me, such as describing a picture, a simulated phone call to book an appointment and a short discussion, and I correct pronunciation, structure and vocabulary as we go.
• Reading and writing. You work through tasks like filling in a form or replying to an email, and I correct your answers and explain the mistakes.
• A practice test. A few days before your exam we can run a test situation: the same type of tasks, the same timing and no interruptions. Afterward we go through it together. The aim is to know what to expect, so you feel calmer on the day. It gives you my own estimate of where you stand and is not an official result.

The fide office itself states that no preparation course is required and that it does not run courses or work with course providers. It also offers a mock exam for the speaking part, in French or Italian, which you can find on its test page (opens in a new tab). My lessons are independent of the fide office, and they are there if you want to practice the tasks with someone and feel more at ease.

I do not grade exams and I do not issue certificates. Your test is marked at the accredited center. I cannot promise a result, and I am not connected to the State Secretariat for Migration, fide, France Éducation international or any exam center. The lessons are online, at the usual rate of CHF 50 an hour, or CHF 450 for a pack of 10.

Practice material

Most of what you need is free, so you do not have to buy anything before our first lesson.

• fide: the official model test in French (the "version blanche"), with the tasks and the audio, is on the fide test page (opens in a new tab), under Info.
• DELF: sample papers (opens in a new tab) for A1 to C2 on the Swiss DELF site (in French).
• DELF books: examples listed in the reading list of the Fondation Esprit Francophonie (opens in a new tab) include Le DELF B1 100% réussite and Le DELF B2 100% réussite (Didier FLE), and ABC DELF for B1 and B2 (CLE International). For A2, see the A2 list (opens in a new tab). These are examples and not a paid recommendation, and I can help you choose one once I know your level.

Questions about the exams