Category-based selection

Which category draws could you be invited in?

Category draws cut off far below the general rounds — the French-language category has reached the 300s while general rounds sat above 500. If you qualify for one, it is usually the most important thing about your file.

Every category IRCC has drawn from

French-language proficiency

Last round: CRS 391 on 6 August 2026

Test results only — NCLC 7 or higher in all four abilities in French. Your occupation is irrelevant.

· NCLC 7 or above in speaking, listening, reading and writing, on an approved French test.
· This is by far the largest category by invitations issued, and its cutoffs run far below the general rounds.

Cutoff history for french-language proficiency · Check my odds in this category

Healthcare and social services occupations

Last round: CRS 475 on 25 June 2026

At least six months of continuous experience in an eligible occupation.

Occupations in this category (44 codes on our list)

· Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
· Nurse practitioners and nursing coordinators
· General practitioners, family physicians and specialists
· Pharmacists, dietitians and nutritionists
· Physiotherapists, occupational therapists and audiologists
· Medical laboratory and radiation technologists
· Paramedical occupations
· Licensed practical nurses and nurse aides
· Social workers, therapists and counsellors
· Early childhood educators and assistants

· The experience must be in Canada or abroad, within the last three years.
· It must be continuous — six months in a single occupation, not six months summed across several.

Cutoff history for healthcare and social services occupations · Check my odds in this category

Trade occupations

Last round: CRS 477 on 2 April 2026

At least six months of continuous experience in an eligible trade.

Occupations in this category (44 codes on our list)

· Carpenters and cabinetmakers
· Electricians (including industrial and power system)
· Plumbers, steamfitters and pipefitters
· Welders and machining operators
· Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
· Machinists and tool and die makers
· Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
· Contractors and supervisors in the trades
· Concrete finishers, roofers and glaziers

· Experience within the last three years, in Canada or abroad.
· A Canadian certificate of qualification is not required for the category, but is worth CRS points separately.

Cutoff history for trade occupations · Check my odds in this category

STEM occupations

Last round: CRS 491 on 11 April 2024

At least six months of continuous experience in an eligible science, technology, engineering or mathematics occupation.

Occupations in this category (40 codes on our list)

· Software engineers, developers and designers
· Data scientists and database analysts
· Cybersecurity specialists
· Civil, mechanical, electrical and chemical engineers
· Computer and information systems managers
· Architects and land surveyors
· Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries
· Physicists, chemists and biologists

· Experience within the last three years, in Canada or abroad.

Cutoff history for stem occupations · Check my odds in this category

Transport occupations

Last round: CRS 470 on 7 August 2026

At least six months of continuous experience in an eligible transport occupation.

Occupations in this category (10 codes on our list)

· Aircraft pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors
· Air traffic controllers
· Deck officers and engineer officers, water transport
· Railway traffic controllers
· Transport truck drivers
· Aircraft assemblers and inspectors

· Experience within the last three years, in Canada or abroad.
· IRCC has revised this category’s occupation list between versions — confirm the current one.

Cutoff history for transport occupations · Check my odds in this category

Agriculture and agri-food occupations

Last round: CRS 437 on 16 February 2024

At least six months of continuous experience in an eligible agriculture or agri-food occupation.

Occupations in this category (3 codes on our list)

· Contractors and supervisors, agriculture
· Managers in agriculture
· Butchers — retail and wholesale

· This is the narrowest category by far — only a handful of occupations qualify.
· Experience within the last three years, in Canada or abroad.

Cutoff history for agriculture and agri-food occupations · Check my odds in this category

Education occupations

Last round: CRS 462 on 17 September 2025

At least six months of continuous experience in an eligible education occupation.

Occupations in this category (6 codes on our list)

· University professors and lecturers
· College and vocational instructors
· Secondary school teachers
· Elementary school and kindergarten teachers
· Early childhood educators and assistants
· Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants

· Experience within the last three years, in Canada or abroad.

Cutoff history for education occupations · Check my odds in this category

Physicians with Canadian work experience

Last round: CRS 223 on 24 June 2026

Canadian work experience as a physician, including experience gained under a fee-for-service arrangement.

Occupations in this category (3 codes on our list)

· General practitioners and family physicians
· Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
· Specialists in surgery

· Introduced to reach physicians whose work arrangements had not counted as employment for Express Entry purposes.

Cutoff history for physicians with canadian work experience · Check my odds in this category

Senior managers with Canadian work experience

Last round: CRS 392 on 10 July 2026

Canadian work experience in a senior management occupation.

Occupations in this category (6 codes on our list)

· Legislators
· Senior government managers and officials
· Senior managers — financial, communications and other business services
· Senior managers — health, education, social and community services
· Senior managers — trade, broadcasting and other services
· Senior managers — construction, transportation, production and utilities

· Canadian experience specifically — foreign senior management experience does not qualify here.

Cutoff history for senior managers with canadian work experience · Check my odds in this category

Skilled military recruits

Last round: CRS 368 on 23 July 2026

Eligibility is tied to Canadian Armed Forces recruitment rather than to a NOC list.

· A narrow category aimed at candidates the Canadian Armed Forces is recruiting.
· Confirm the current criteria with IRCC — this category is unlike the others.

Cutoff history for skilled military recruits · Check my odds in this category

2 rounds in this category, 662 invitations in total. Typically one every 125 days.

The last 2 physicians with canadian work experience rounds as a table

2 rounds in this category, 662 invitations in total. Typically one every 125 days.
Round	Date	CRS cutoff	Invitations
#397	19 February 2026	169	391
#421	24 June 2026	223	271

Category eligibility is decided by IRCC when it assesses your profile, not by this page. A category can be added, revised or dropped at any announcement, and the occupation lists move with it. Nothing here predicts which categories will be drawn from next.

Source: IRCC — Category-based selection; Express Entry rounds of invitations. Data current as of 2026-08-10. IRCC revises the eligible occupation list when it announces each year’s categories. This list is a working reference, not the authoritative one — always confirm against the IRCC page.