Canada has invited 5,000 candidates with strong French-language skills to apply for permanent residence in an Express Entry round held on October 16, 2026. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score required was 435.
This was the 450th Express Entry round overall and the 62nd of 2026. It is the first French-language round since the August 19 draw, which also invited 5,000 candidates but at a cut-off of 382 — 53 points lower. At 435, the minimum score is the highest for a French-language round this year. The round came one day after the October 15 Canadian Experience Class round.
Full Details of the October 16 French-Language Draw
| Draw detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Round type | French-language proficiency (category-based selection) |
| Round number | 450 |
| Date and time | October 16, 2026 at 10:25:13 UTC |
| Number of invitations issued | 5,000 |
| CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited | 435 |
| Tie-breaking rule | October 6, 2026 at 21:31:22 UTC |
Tie-Breaking Rule
The tie-breaking rule means that eligible candidates with a CRS score of 435 who submitted their Express Entry profile before 21:31:22 UTC on October 6, 2026 received an invitation. Candidates with the same score who entered the pool after that moment did not.
How the 435 Cut-Off Compares
| Date | Invitations | CRS cut-off |
|---|---|---|
| October 16, 2026 | 5,000 | 435 |
| August 19, 2026 | 5,000 | 382 |
| August 6, 2026 | 5,000 | 391 |
| July 22, 2026 | 5,000 | 399 |
| July 9, 2026 | 5,000 | 420 |
| May 28, 2026 | 4,500 | 409 |
| April 29, 2026 | 4,000 | 400 |
| April 15, 2026 | 4,000 | 419 |
| March 18, 2026 | 4,000 | 393 |
| March 4, 2026 | 5,500 | 397 |
| February 6, 2026 | 8,500 | 400 |
Across those 11 rounds, IRCC has issued 55,500 invitations to French-speaking candidates in 2026. The previous high for the year was 420, set on July 9. The jump to 435 follows a gap of nearly two months without a French-language round, during which eligible French-speaking candidates continued to accumulate in the pool without being invited.
Who Qualifies for a French-Language Round
French-language rounds are a form of category-based selection. To be eligible, a candidate must have a valid Express Entry profile under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class or the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and must have test results showing at least Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) 7 in all four French language abilities: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Because the round is limited to candidates who meet that French threshold, the cut-off is far below those of general or Canadian Experience Class rounds. Strong French also earns additional CRS points on its own, and those points apply in every round a candidate is eligible for, not only French-language rounds.
Express Entry in 2026 So Far
The October 16 round brings the 2026 running total to 143,467 invitations across 62 rounds.
As of October 12, 2026, there were 229,456 candidates in the Express Entry pool. Of those, 63,528 had a CRS score between 401 and 450 — the band in which this round’s cut-off fell. IRCC does not publish how many candidates in the pool meet the French-language criteria.
Full details of each round are published on the Government of Canada’s rounds of invitations page. A full history of this year’s rounds is kept on our Express Entry draws 2026 page.
If you speak French at NCLC 7 or above, use our free CRS score calculator to work out your Comprehensive Ranking System score, see how you compare with the 435 cut-off, and identify which factors — French or English test results, education or Canadian work experience — would move you closest to an invitation.