Express Entry looks different in 2026. On February 18, 2026, IRCC added new selection categories, bringing the total to ten: French language, healthcare and social services, trades, STEM, education, physicians, senior managers with Canadian experience, researchers with Canadian experience, transport workers, and skilled military recruits.
The headline: physicians at CRS 169
The February 19 physicians draw invited candidates at a CRS cut-off of 169, the lowest in Express Entry history. The category is narrow: it requires at least 12 months of Canadian clinical work experience. But for foreign-trained doctors already working in Canada, it is close to a guaranteed pathway.
The quieter change: 12 months of experience
All renewed categories now require a minimum of 12 months of qualifying work experience within the past three years, doubled from the previous 6-month threshold. The experience no longer needs to be continuous, which helps people who changed employers or had gaps. If you qualified under the old 6-month rule but have not yet reached 12 months, your category eligibility has changed, and your strategy should too.
Where the cut-offs sit
Through the first half of 2026, general and Canadian Experience Class rounds have mostly required scores in the low 500s. Category draws are a different world: French-language rounds have run under 410, healthcare at 467, and senior managers at 429. The gap between general and category draws is now the single most important fact in Express Entry planning.
What to do with this
If your CRS sits below the general cut-off, chasing a category is usually more realistic than chasing points. That can mean finishing a 12-month block of qualifying experience, sitting a French test, or confirming your occupation code actually matches the category list. Each category has its own definitions, and a wrong NOC code wastes a year.
Official source: IRCC: Express Entry rounds of invitations.
This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Immigration rules change frequently and every case is different. For advice about your situation, book a consultation.
About the author
Miguel Martins Pereirinha is a Canadian immigration lawyer and partner at Slayen Immigration Law in Vancouver, British Columbia. He practises Canadian immigration law exclusively — work permits, permanent residence, family sponsorship, citizenship and inadmissibility — and works with clients in English and Portuguese.
