Round 440 set a CRS cut-off of 198
IRCC held Express Entry round 440 on September 3, 2026 and issued 229 invitations to apply for permanent residence. The round was limited to the Physicians with Canadian Work Experience category, 2026 — Version 1, and the lowest-ranked invited candidate had a Comprehensive Ranking System score of 198.
The tie-breaking rule was August 6, 2026 at 19:40:38 UTC. This means candidates at CRS 198 needed to have submitted their Express Entry profile before that timestamp to rank above later profiles with the same score.
Only eligible physicians in the category were ranked
This was not a general draw and it was separate from the broader healthcare and social services category. IRCC's current category rules require at least 12 months of full-time Canadian work experience, or an equal amount of part-time experience, accumulated within the previous three years in one listed physician occupation.
The listed occupations are specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine (NOC 31100), specialists in surgery (NOC 31101), and general practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102). The experience does not need to be continuous, but it must be Canadian work experience in one of those occupations.
Express Entry program eligibility still applies
A candidate also had to be eligible for at least one of the three Express Entry programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class or Federal Skilled Trades Program. Meeting the occupation requirement and the published CRS score alone did not create eligibility.
Invited candidates have 60 days to submit a complete permanent residence application. Their work history, category eligibility and all information claimed in the profile must be supported by the required documents and remain accurate at the time of application.
This article is not legal advice. Immigration rules and program instructions can change, and the result depends on the facts of each case.