The batch spanning June 22 to 25, 2026 issued 9,226 invitations across four rounds, led by round 419, a Provincial Nominee Program draw that invited 955 candidates, an unusually large PNP round, at a cut-off of CRS 730. That volume is notably higher than most PNP rounds this year, which more typically invite in the 300 to 600 range.
Round 420 followed with 4,000 Canadian Experience Class invitations at a cut-off of 516, matching round 422's 4,000-invitation Healthcare and Social Services Occupations round at CRS 475. In between, round 421 issued 271 invitations under Physicians with Canadian Work Experience at a cut-off of just 223, the lowest of the four.
Candidates comparing their own CRS to any of these figures can use the CRS calculator, and the full sequence of rounds is available in the live draw table.
| Round | Date | Category | Invitations | CRS cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #419 | June 22, 2026 | Provincial Nominee Program | 955 | 730 |
| #420 | June 23, 2026 | Canadian Experience Class | 4,000 | 516 |
| #421 | June 24, 2026 | Physicians with Canadian Work Experience | 271 | 223 |
| #422 | June 25, 2026 | Healthcare and Social Services Occupations | 4,000 | 475 |
Each bar is the lowest CRS score invited in that round. Invitation counts differ by orders of magnitude between rounds, so they are given as text rather than as a second axis.
PNP
#419 · 955 ITAs
730
CEC
#420 · 4,000 ITAs
516
Physicians
#421 · 271 ITAs
223
Healthcare
#422 · 4,000 ITAs
475
600 points is what a provincial nomination adds on its own.
- Provincial nomination
- General programme round
- Category-based selection
A larger-than-usual PNP round at 730
Round 419's 955 invitations is a notably large PNP round; many rounds in this stream this year have invited several hundred candidates rather than nearly a thousand. The cut-off of 730 follows the same logic as every PNP round: it includes the 600-point bonus a provincial nomination adds to a candidate's CRS, so the underlying score behind this round, once that bonus is removed, sits around 130.
A larger round at a similar cut-off to smaller PNP rounds suggests the pool of nominated candidates above that score had grown enough to support more invitations without lowering the bar. Candidates without a nomination should still treat 730 as uninformative about their own prospects and instead focus on whether they meet a specific province's nomination criteria.
Two rounds at 4,000 invitations, two different cut-offs
Rounds 420 and 422 both issued 4,000 invitations, the same volume, but landed at different cut-offs: 516 for Canadian Experience Class and 475 for Healthcare and Social Services Occupations. The gap illustrates that invitation volume alone does not determine where a cut-off lands; the size and score distribution of the eligible pool for each stream matters more. CEC draws from a broader pool of candidates meeting Canadian work experience criteria, while the Healthcare category is limited to specific occupations within that sector.
For a candidate working in a healthcare-related occupation with a CRS below CEC's typical range, round 422 is the more directly relevant of the two, provided their specific occupation falls within the category's defined list.
Physicians at 223: a narrow but real pathway
Round 421's cut-off of 223 on 271 invitations continues a pattern seen in other Physicians with Canadian Work Experience rounds: a very low cut-off driven by a small, tightly defined eligible pool rather than a low overall bar. Physicians practising in Canada with qualifying work experience make up a small fraction of the Express Entry pool, so relatively few invitations are needed to clear the entire eligible group down to a modest score.
This round is not relevant to candidates outside the Physicians category, and a candidate in this occupation should focus on confirming their eligibility criteria rather than comparing their CRS to the much higher cut-offs in CEC or PNP.
What this batch shows about scale
At 9,226 total invitations across four rounds, this was one of the larger batches of the year, driven mainly by the two 4,000-invitation rounds and the unusually large PNP draw. Read as an observation of recent months rather than a prediction, batches of this scale suggest IRCC continues to draw substantial numbers from CEC and category streams even as PNP-nominated candidates are invited at high cut-offs.
Candidates without a nomination or category eligibility should treat the CEC cut-off of 516 as this batch's most useful reference point, while those in healthcare or physician occupations have two additional, more accessible pathways to weigh.
What to take from this round
- Round 419's PNP cut-off of 730 came from an unusually large round of 955 invitations; the score still reflects a 600-point nomination bonus, not a general benchmark.
- Rounds 420 and 422 both issued 4,000 invitations but landed at different cut-offs, 516 for CEC and 475 for Healthcare, showing that volume alone does not set the cut-off.
- Round 421's Physicians cut-off of 223 applies only to that narrow occupational category; it is not evidence of a broadly low bar for the pool.
- Use the CRS calculator to check your own score against CEC's 516 cut-off, the most relevant figure in this batch for candidates without a nomination or category eligibility.
Round numbers, dates, invitation counts and CRS cut-offs are IRCC's own, from their published rounds of invitations. The analysis is general information, not immigration advice, and reading it creates no consultant-client relationship.