Canada has invited 1,000 candidates to apply for permanent residence through its Express Entry system under the Canadian Experience Class.
The invitation round was conducted on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, according to ministerial instructions published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Candidates needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 523 to receive an invitation.
“Number of invitations issued: 1,000,” the notice stated.
The department said invitations were issued to candidates ranked among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group.
The draw was conducted at 10:13:44 UTC on August 18, with a tie-breaking rule set at August 17, 2026, at 22:09:00 UTC.
Under the tie-breaking rule, “If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.”
The invitations were issued under the Canadian Experience Class, one of the three economic immigration programs managed through Express Entry.
The ministerial instructions, signed by Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab, in Ottawa on August 18, stated that invitations could be issued between August 18 and August 19.
“Invitations may be issued to eligible foreign nationals who rank among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group ranking,” the instructions stated.
How Express Entry Works
Express Entry is Canada’s primary online system for managing permanent residence applications from skilled workers.
The system covers three federal economic immigration programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.
Candidates create Express Entry profiles and are ranked under the CRS, which awards points based on factors including age, education, language ability, work experience and other human capital attributes.
The highest-ranked candidates are invited to submit applications for permanent residence during periodic invitation rounds.
Who Qualifies for Canadian Experience Class
The Canadian Experience Class is designed for skilled workers who already have Canadian work experience and want to become permanent residents.
Eligibility generally requires at least one year, or 1,560 hours, of skilled work experience in Canada within the previous three years in occupations classified under National Occupational Classification TEER categories 0, 1, 2 or 3.
Applicants must also meet minimum language requirements, including Canadian Language Benchmark 7 for TEER 0 or 1 occupations and CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3 occupations.
The programme does not require a specific level of education or proof of settlement funds. Applicants must also plan to live outside Quebec.
Higher CRS Cut Off in Latest Draw
The August 18 invitation round followed a pattern of frequent Canadian Experience Class-focused draws in 2026.
A previous CEC draw on August 5 issued 3,000 invitations with a CRS cut-off of 516.
The latest round issued fewer invitations and raised the CRS cut-off to 523, making it one of the more selective CEC invitation rounds of the year.
As of mid-August 2026, IRCC had issued well over 113,000 invitations through Express Entry, with a substantial share going to Canadian Experience Class candidates.
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