On 3 September 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 229 invitations to apply for permanent residence in Express Entry draw 440, a category-based draw for physicians with Canadian work experience, at a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off of 198. It was the third physicians draw of 2026, and the cut-off came down from 223 in June.
Draw 440 alongside recent draws
| Draw | Date | Category or program | Invitations | CRS cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 440 | 3 September 2026 | Physicians with Canadian work experience | 229 | 198 |
| 421 | 24 June 2026 | Physicians with Canadian work experience | 271 | 223 |
| 397 | 19 February 2026 | Physicians with Canadian work experience | 391 | 169 |
| 439 | 1 September 2026 | Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 2,000 | 521 |
| 438 | 31 August 2026 | Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) | 562 | 697 |
| 437 | 19 August 2026 | French-language proficiency | 5,000 | 382 |
| 426 | 10 July 2026 | Senior managers with Canadian work experience | 500 | 392 |
| 422 | 25 June 2026 | Healthcare and social services occupations | 4,000 | 475 |
The table makes one thing plain: each category draw is its own competition. All three physicians draws closed far below the Canadian Experience Class draw and below the larger healthcare category, because each draw ranks only the candidates who meet its criteria. Side by side, these numbers mean something; none of them stands in for another.
Why 198?
In a category-based draw, IRCC first sets aside the candidates in the pool who meet the category’s criteria, then ranks that list by CRS score and issues the set number of invitations. The cut-off is the score of the last person invited from that list. It is neither a ceiling for physicians nor an average for the pool.
By IRCC’s own count, on 30 August 2026 the Express Entry pool held 226,673 candidates, and only 7,735 of them scored 300 or below. That distribution covers every candidate in every program, not physicians alone. Physicians with at least a year of Canadian work in one of the category’s three occupations are a small slice of that pool; rank that slice on its own and the 229th person lands on 198.
The two earlier draws tell the same story. On 21 June, before draw 421, the pool held 239,645 candidates, 8,104 of them at 300 or below; that draw issued 271 invitations and closed at 223. In February, draw 397 issued 391 invitations and went down to 169. In all three, the final number depended on how many eligible physicians were in the pool that day and what they scored. A low cut-off in this category means the eligible group is small, not that the route is easy. If you do not meet the category’s criteria, this number has nothing to do with your profile and should not guide your planning.
Who is eligible
IRCC states the requirement in a single sentence: within the past three years, at least 12 months of full-time work experience in Canada, or an equal amount of part-time work, in one of the three occupations listed below. The experience does not have to be continuous. The primary occupation on your profile is not the test; 12 months in one of these three codes is.
| Occupation | NOC code | TEER |
|---|---|---|
| Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine | 31100 | 1 |
| Specialists in surgery | 31101 | 1 |
| General practitioners and family physicians | 31102 | 1 |
Three points the news tends to leave out:
- You must already be in the pool. Draw 440 selected from profiles under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. You first have to qualify for one of those three programs and hold a valid profile; the category is applied on top. If those programs are new to you, start with our Express Entry guide.
- The draw’s own instructions also apply. Beyond the work experience, the official page says you must meet every requirement of the ministerial instructions for that round. The full detail is published with each round.
- The tie-breaking rule. Where several candidates held exactly 198 points, only those whose profiles were submitted before 6 August 2026 at 19:40:38 UTC were invited.
A common question is whether a paid residency or fellowship counts as work experience under these codes. The official eligibility text for this category, set out above, mentions neither. The answer depends on the ministerial instructions for the round and on your own licensing status, and it has to be assessed file by file, on your documents, not by assumption. One related point is easy to miss: the language test you sit for a medical licence is not the test an immigration application asks for.
If you do not qualify for this category
Many of the physicians who contact us have no Canadian work experience. For them, this draw is good news, but not their news. The routes that remain open:
The healthcare and social services category
This category is larger, and the competition is heavier. Its most recent draw, 422 on 25 June, issued 4,000 invitations at a cut-off of 475, and there was no further draw for this category between that date and draw 440. Its criteria differ from the physicians category and have to be checked separately. The full list of this year’s categories is in our post on Express Entry categories.
The French-language route
Four French-language proficiency draws ran this summer, from 9 July to 19 August, each with 5,000 invitations and cut-offs between 420 and 382. The latest, draw 437 on 19 August, closed at 382. This category asks for NCLC 7 or higher in all four French language abilities. For a physician starting French from nothing it is not a short road, but the gap between 382 and 475 is wide enough to be worth a look.
Provincial programs
A provincial nomination adds 600 points to a CRS score. That is why draw 438 on 31 August closed at 697: all 562 candidates invited already held a nomination. For physicians, Nova Scotia has a path of its own, starting with a Defined licence and an approved job offer and leading to a provincial nomination. Details are on our Nova Scotia Defined licence page.
What to do now
If you are a physician, first work out your real score with our CRS calculator. It is built on IRCC’s official grid; its result is an estimate, not an official score. Then follow the live draws table to see each new draw on the day. If you are caught between these routes, that is what a consultation is for: we put your licensing status, language results and work history side by side and say which category is genuinely open to your profile.
Frequently asked questions
Was draw 440 the first physicians draw of 2026?
No, it was the third. Draw 397 on 19 February 2026 issued 391 invitations at a cut-off of 169, and draw 421 on 24 June 2026 issued 271 invitations at 223, both for this category. Draw 440’s cut-off of 198 is lower than June’s.
I am a physician but have never worked in Canada. Does this category include me?
No. The category requires at least 12 months of work experience in Canada within the past three years, in one of NOC 31100, NOC 31101 or NOC 31102. Without that experience, you need to look at other routes, such as the healthcare category, the French-language route or provincial programs.
Does a residency count as work experience?
The official eligibility text for this category does not mention residency. The answer depends on the ministerial instructions for the round and on your licensing status, and it has to be assessed case by case. Do not assume either way.
Does a cut-off of 198 mean anyone with that score is invited?
No. The number only has meaning for candidates who met the physicians category criteria. For comparison, the Canadian Experience Class draw two days earlier closed at 521. On 30 August, only 7,735 of the 226,673 candidates in the pool scored 300 or below, and eligible physicians are a small part of that group.
When is the next physicians draw?
We do not guess at draw dates. IRCC itself says that if enough of a category’s top-ranked candidates are invited through general or program-specific draws, a category draw may not be needed. The right approach is to follow the live draws table on this site.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and it describes IRCC’s published rules rather than any individual case. Hadi Imani is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, licence R522575, practising in Toronto; that licence covers Canadian immigration only.
Related reading
Sources
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Express Entry: Rounds of invitations, Government of Canada. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Express Entry: Category-based selection, Government of Canada. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Ministerial Instructions respecting invitations to apply for permanent residence under the Express Entry system (round 440), Government of Canada. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
