Canada has invited 5,000 candidates with strong French-language skills to apply for permanent residence in an Express Entry round held on October 27, 2026. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score required was 407.
This was the 452nd Express Entry round overall and the 64th of 2026. It is the second French-language round in 11 days: the October 16 draw also invited 5,000 candidates, but at a cut-off of 435 — 28 points higher. The round came one day after the October 26 Provincial Nominee Program round.
Full Details of the October 27 French-Language Draw
| Draw detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Round type | French-language proficiency (category-based selection) |
| Round number | 452 |
| Date and time | October 27, 2026 at 10:17:26 UTC |
| Number of invitations issued | 5,000 |
| CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited | 407 |
| Tie-breaking rule | July 13, 2026 at 19:22:00 UTC |
Tie-Breaking Rule
The tie-breaking rule means that eligible candidates with a CRS score of 407 who submitted their Express Entry profile before 19:22:00 UTC on July 13, 2026 received an invitation. Candidates with the same score who entered the pool after that moment did not.
How the 407 Cut-Off Compares
| Date | Invitations | CRS cut-off |
|---|---|---|
| October 27, 2026 | 5,000 | 407 |
| 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 12 rounds, IRCC has issued 60,500 invitations to French-speaking candidates in 2026. The October 16 round, at 435, invited the French-speaking candidates with the highest scores after a gap of nearly two months. With those candidates cleared, the cut-off in this follow-up round fell back to 407, in line with the range of 382 to 420 seen in earlier French-language rounds this year.
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 27 round brings the 2026 running total to 149,259 invitations across 64 rounds.
As of October 25, 2026, there were 228,724 candidates in the Express Entry pool. Of those, 11,880 had a CRS score between 401 and 410 — 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 407 cut-off, and identify which factors — French or English test results, education or Canadian work experience — would move you closest to an invitation.