diff --git a/examples/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.c b/examples/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2c7bba7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.c
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+#include <stdarg.h>
+
+long long sx_ffi_sum_ints(int n, ...) {
+    va_list ap;
+    va_start(ap, n);
+    long long total = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) total += va_arg(ap, int);
+    va_end(ap);
+    return total;
+}
+
+double sx_ffi_avg_doubles(int n, ...) {
+    va_list ap;
+    va_start(ap, n);
+    double total = 0.0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) total += va_arg(ap, double);
+    va_end(ap);
+    if (n == 0) return 0.0;
+    return total / n;
+}
+
+int sx_ffi_count_args(const char *tag, ...) {
+    (void) tag;
+    va_list ap;
+    va_start(ap, tag);
+    int count = 0;
+    while (va_arg(ap, const char *) != 0) count++;
+    va_end(ap);
+    return count;
+}
diff --git a/examples/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.sx b/examples/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.sx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c9a765c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.sx
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+// `#foreign` C-variadic tail: trailing `args: ..T` on a foreign fn maps
+// to the C calling convention's `...`. Extras at the call site are
+// passed via the variadic slot with the standard default argument
+// promotion (s8/s16/bool → s32, f32 → f64) applied implicitly.
+
+#import "modules/std.sx";
+
+#import c {
+    #source "ffi-foreign-cvariadic.c";
+};
+
+sx_ffi_sum_ints     :: (n: s32, args: ..s32) -> s64 #foreign;
+sx_ffi_avg_doubles  :: (n: s32, args: ..f64) -> f64 #foreign;
+sx_ffi_count_args   :: (tag: *u8, args: ..*u8) -> s32 #foreign;
+
+main :: () -> s32 {
+    print("sum_ints(3, 10, 20, 30) = {}\n", sx_ffi_sum_ints(3, 10, 20, 30));
+    print("sum_ints(0)             = {}\n", sx_ffi_sum_ints(0));
+    print("avg_doubles(2)          = {}\n", sx_ffi_avg_doubles(2, 1.5, 2.5));
+    print("avg_doubles(3)          = {}\n", sx_ffi_avg_doubles(3, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0));
+
+    a := "alpha".ptr;
+    b := "beta".ptr;
+    g := "gamma".ptr;
+    sentinel : *u8 = null;
+    print("count_args(3 strs)      = {}\n", sx_ffi_count_args("tag".ptr, a, b, g, sentinel));
+    0;
+}
diff --git a/src/ir/emit_llvm.zig b/src/ir/emit_llvm.zig
index 53d203e..b68c030 100644
--- a/src/ir/emit_llvm.zig
+++ b/src/ir/emit_llvm.zig
@@ -662,7 +662,8 @@ pub const LLVMEmitter = struct {
             param_types[j + sret_offset] = if (needs_c_abi) self.abiCoerceParamType(param.ty, llvm_ty) else llvm_ty;
         }
 
-        const fn_type = c.LLVMFunctionType(ret_ty, param_types.ptr, param_count, 0);
+        const is_var_arg: c_int = if (func.is_variadic) 1 else 0;
+        const fn_type = c.LLVMFunctionType(ret_ty, param_types.ptr, param_count, is_var_arg);
         const name_z = self.alloc.dupeZ(u8, name) catch unreachable;
         defer self.alloc.free(name_z);
 
diff --git a/src/ir/inst.zig b/src/ir/inst.zig
index ab5afbf..8a369be 100644
--- a/src/ir/inst.zig
+++ b/src/ir/inst.zig
@@ -478,6 +478,13 @@ pub const Function = struct {
     linkage: Linkage = .internal,
     call_conv: CallingConvention = .default,
     source_file: ?[]const u8 = null,
+    /// Variadic tail at the IR signature level. Only `#foreign` decls reach
+    /// IR with this set — sx-side `..T` params are slice-packed before
+    /// lowering, so anything that survives is the C calling convention's
+    /// `...`. emit_llvm passes `is_var_arg=1` to `LLVMFunctionType`; call
+    /// sites apply the standard default argument promotions (s8/s16/bool →
+    /// s32, f32 → f64) to extras past the fixed param count.
+    is_variadic: bool = false,
 
     pub const Param = struct {
         name: StringId,
diff --git a/src/ir/lower.zig b/src/ir/lower.zig
index 1ab3bed..8bc03e2 100644
--- a/src/ir/lower.zig
+++ b/src/ir/lower.zig
@@ -671,8 +671,19 @@ pub const Lowering = struct {
 
         const ret_ty = self.resolveReturnType(fd);
 
+        // Foreign declarations with a trailing variadic param map to the C
+        // calling convention's `...` tail. Drop the variadic param from the
+        // IR signature (it has no C-level slot) and set is_variadic.
+        const is_foreign = fd.body.data == .foreign_expr;
+        var is_variadic = false;
+        var effective_params = fd.params;
+        if (is_foreign and fd.params.len > 0 and fd.params[fd.params.len - 1].is_variadic) {
+            is_variadic = true;
+            effective_params = fd.params[0 .. fd.params.len - 1];
+        }
+
         var params = std.ArrayList(Function.Param).empty;
-        for (fd.params) |p| {
+        for (effective_params) |p| {
             const pty = self.resolveParamType(&p);
             params.append(self.alloc, .{
                 .name = self.module.types.internString(p.name),
@@ -683,7 +694,7 @@ pub const Lowering = struct {
         const cc: Function.CallingConvention = if (fd.call_conv == .c) .c else .default;
 
         // For #foreign with C name override, declare under C name and map sx name → C name
-        if (fd.body.data == .foreign_expr) {
+        if (is_foreign) {
             const fe = fd.body.data.foreign_expr;
             if (fe.c_name) |c_name| {
                 const c_name_id = self.module.types.internString(c_name);
@@ -691,6 +702,7 @@ pub const Lowering = struct {
                 const func = self.module.getFunctionMut(fid);
                 func.call_conv = cc;
                 func.source_file = self.current_source_file;
+                func.is_variadic = is_variadic;
                 self.foreign_name_map.put(name, c_name) catch {};
                 return;
             }
@@ -701,6 +713,7 @@ pub const Lowering = struct {
         const func = self.module.getFunctionMut(fid);
         func.call_conv = cc;
         func.source_file = self.current_source_file;
+        func.is_variadic = is_variadic;
     }
 
     /// Check if a C-imported function is visible from the current source file.
@@ -4651,6 +4664,7 @@ pub const Lowering = struct {
                         }
                         // Coerce arguments to match parameter types
                         self.coerceCallArgs(args.items, params);
+                        if (func.is_variadic) self.promoteCVariadicArgs(args.items, params.len);
                         return self.builder.call(fid, args.items, ret_ty);
                     }
                 }
@@ -4859,6 +4873,7 @@ pub const Lowering = struct {
                             self.packVariadicCallArgs(fd, c, &args);
                         }
                         self.coerceCallArgs(args.items, params);
+                        if (func.is_variadic) self.promoteCVariadicArgs(args.items, params.len);
                         return self.builder.call(fid, args.items, ret_ty);
                     }
                     // Check if this is Type.variant(payload) — qualified enum construction
@@ -6200,6 +6215,12 @@ pub const Lowering = struct {
     /// Detects variadic params in the function decl, packs remaining args into a typed slice,
     /// and replaces the args list with [fixed_args..., slice_ref].
     fn packVariadicCallArgs(self: *Lowering, fd: *const ast.FnDecl, c: *const ast.Call, args: *std.ArrayList(Ref)) void {
+        // `#foreign` variadic uses the C calling convention's `...` tail —
+        // extras are passed through directly with default argument promotion
+        // (handled at the call site), not packed into an sx slice.
+        if (fd.body.data == .foreign_expr and fd.params.len > 0 and fd.params[fd.params.len - 1].is_variadic) {
+            return;
+        }
         // Find variadic param index
         var variadic_idx: ?usize = null;
         var elem_ty: TypeId = .any;
@@ -10025,6 +10046,22 @@ pub const Lowering = struct {
         return 0;
     }
 
+    /// Apply C default argument promotion to variadic-tail args. These rules
+    /// (bool/s8/s16/u8/u16 → s32, f32 → f64) match the C calling convention's
+    /// implicit promotions when an argument is passed through `...`.
+    fn promoteCVariadicArgs(self: *Lowering, args: []Ref, fixed_count: usize) void {
+        if (args.len <= fixed_count) return;
+        for (args[fixed_count..]) |*arg| {
+            const src_ty = self.builder.getRefType(arg.*);
+            const promoted: TypeId = switch (src_ty) {
+                .bool, .s8, .s16, .u8, .u16 => .s32,
+                .f32 => .f64,
+                else => continue,
+            };
+            arg.* = self.coerceToType(arg.*, src_ty, promoted);
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Coerce call arguments in-place to match function parameter types.
     fn coerceCallArgs(self: *Lowering, args: []Ref, params: []const Function.Param) void {
         for (0..@min(args.len, params.len)) |i| {
diff --git a/tests/expected/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.exit b/tests/expected/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.exit
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..573541a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/expected/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.exit
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0
diff --git a/tests/expected/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.txt b/tests/expected/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9049dd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/expected/ffi-foreign-cvariadic.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+sum_ints(3, 10, 20, 30) = 60
+sum_ints(0)             = 0
+avg_doubles(2)          = 2.000000
+avg_doubles(3)          = 2.000000
+count_args(3 strs)      = 3