RS
Live from IRCC New for 2026

Researcher Express Entry Draws - Status & Eligibility

No researcher-category draws have been recorded yet. New rounds are copied from IRCC on a schedule after they are published; the last successful check is shown below.

Last updated: September 20, 2026 IRCC Express Entry rounds of invitations (researcher category)

0 Total draws
0 Draws in 2026
— Average CRS cut-off
— Days since last draw
Researcher Express Entry draws in Canada for NOC 41200 professors and NOC 41201 research assistants

Researcher draws are a 2026 category-based round for people already teaching or researching at a Canadian post-secondary institution. IRCC narrows the pool to two academic occupations, then invites the highest-ranked candidates in that group.

Classroom teachers in schools belong on the education page, not here. This list is university professors, lecturers, and post-secondary teaching and research assistants, and the qualifying year has to have been worked in Canada.

No dedicated researcher-category draws have been held yet. Being listed as a category is not a promise that IRCC will run a round. If and when the first one is published, it will appear in the table below after the next scheduled sync.

All Researcher draw results

Draw #DateCategoryCRS Cut-offInvitations
No draws found.

No draws to show

When is the next Researcher draw?

IRCC has not published a schedule for these rounds.

There is not enough draw history in this category yet to describe a pattern. New rounds are copied from IRCC on a schedule after they are published.

Researcher draw history by year

Rounds held, invitations issued, and the range of CRS cut-offs within each year.

What changed for Researcher draws

Announced as part of IRCC's 2026 category list, but no researcher round has been held yet. Everything on this page is the rules as published; there is no draw history to read because there are no draws. If and when the first round is published, it will appear here after the next scheduled sync from IRCC.

Is a Researcher draw your route?

  • You have Canadian work experience in NOC 41200 (university professors and lecturers) or NOC 41201 (post-secondary teaching and research assistants).
  • You are watching for a category that exists on paper but has not yet been used for a dedicated round.
  • Not you: anyone who needs an invitation on a known timeline. This category has never run. School teachers belong on the education page, not here.
  • Worth knowing: a college or university job title does not qualify on its own. Duties must match 41200 or 41201, and the year must have been worked in Canada.

Who qualifies for Researcher draws?

IRCC added researchers in February 2026 alongside the other Canadian-experience categories. Being on the list is not a promise of a round: as of the latest update, IRCC had not yet held a dedicated researcher draw.

  • At least 12 months of full-time work experience (or the part-time equivalent) in Canada within the past 3 years, in one of the two researcher occupations listed below.
  • The experience has to be Canadian. Academic work gained abroad does not qualify for this category.
  • An Express Entry profile in the pool, and eligibility for at least one of the three federal programs.
  • A CRS score at or above the cut-off published for that specific round.

This category is new and may have no draw history yet. Do not plan around a round that has not been held.

The 2 occupations eligible for Researcher draws

IRCC lists two occupations. Twelve months in one of these codes is enough, and it does not have to be the primary NOC on your profile, but the year has to have been worked in Canada. Elementary and secondary teachers are not on this list.

NOC 2021Occupation
41200University professors and lecturers
41201Post-secondary teaching and research assistants

Not sure which code describes your job? Try the NOC Finder. Occupation list published by IRCC - Express Entry category-based selection.

Illustration of a university professor lecturing alongside a research assistant analyzing data in Canada.

How to be considered in a Researcher draw

  1. Check that your Canadian role is on the list

    These categories only count experience gained in Canada. Match your duties to the NOC, not the job title.

  2. Confirm you have 12 months in Canada

    You need 12 months of full-time work, or the part-time equivalent, in one of the two researcher occupations within the last 3 years. The year does not have to be continuous, but it does have to have been worked in Canada. It does not have to be your primary NOC.

  3. Confirm you are eligible for a federal program

    A category is a filter applied to the pool, not a way into it. You still need to qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program or the Canadian Experience Class.

  4. Create or update your Express Entry profile

    Enter the Canadian work history that evidences the category. There is no separate category application.

  5. Keep language results valid

    Language results expire after two years. If they lapse while you wait, your profile can fall out of the pool entirely.

Researcher Express Entry Draws - Frequently Asked Questions

Researcher draws are a 2026 category-based round for people already teaching or researching at a Canadian post-secondary institution. IRCC narrows the pool to two academic occupations, then invites the highest-ranked candidates in that group.
No dedicated rounds have been held under this category yet. Being on the annual category list is not a promise that IRCC will run a round, and IRCC publishes no schedule for when a new category will be used for the first time.
There is no historical CRS cut-off for this category yet, because IRCC has not held a dedicated round under it. Until the first round runs, there is no cut-off to compare against.
IRCC does not announce rounds in advance, and there is not enough draw history in this category yet to describe a pattern. New rounds are copied from IRCC on a schedule after they are published.
IRCC lists 2 eligible occupations for the Researcher category, each tied to a specific NOC 2021 code. The full list is on this page. Twelve months in a single listed code is enough. It does not have to be the primary NOC on your profile, and IRCC compares your duties with the lead statement and main duties, not your job title. You cannot combine two different codes to make up the year.
At least 12 months of full-time work, or the part-time equivalent, in one of the two researcher occupations (NOC 41200 or 41201), worked in Canada within the past 3 years. It does not have to be continuous. This category was new in 2026, so the 12-month Canadian-experience rule is the current rule, not a change from an earlier six-month version of this category.
Yes, for this category. The 12 months has to have been worked in Canada within the past 3 years. The same occupation performed abroad does not put you in this group, though it may still count under a wider occupation category (healthcare for doctors, education is not the same as researchers).
No. School teachers belong on the education page. This category is university professors and lecturers (NOC 41200) and post-secondary teaching and research assistants (NOC 41201), with 12 months of that work in Canada.
This category does not itself require a job offer. You must still qualify for an Express Entry program: the Federal Skilled Trades Program requires either a qualifying job offer or a certificate of qualification. Job offers no longer add CRS points, but may still matter for federal-program or provincial-stream eligibility. The separate skilled military recruits category does require an offer from the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group.
No, and there is no box to tick. IRCC works out which categories you fall into from the information already in your Express Entry profile at the moment it runs a round. That is why keeping your work history, NOC code and test results accurate and current matters more than any application step.
No. The category was announced as part of the 2026 list, but no round has been run under it. Everything on this page describes the published rules; the draw table will fill in after the next scheduled sync if and when the first round is published.
Post-secondary teaching and research roles under NOC 41200 or 41201 fall in this category rather than the education category, but the experience has to have been gained in Canada, which rules out academics whose work has been entirely abroad.
Draw figures are copied from IRCC's published rounds. They were last updated from that feed on Sep 20, 2026. Nothing on these tables is entered by hand. The figures are IRCC's own published rounds of invitations, the same record behind our full Express Entry draw history. This is not an official IRCC tool. Always confirm your own eligibility and score in your Express Entry profile, or with a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or immigration lawyer.

Official IRCC sources

Eligibility rules on this page were last checked against IRCC on September 15, 2026. Draw figures come from IRCC's published rounds and are not part of that review. This is not an official IRCC page.

Draw figures were last updated from IRCC on Sep 20, 2026.

Every Express Entry draw type we track

IRCC runs several different kinds of round. Each one below has its own cut-off history, its own rhythm, and its own rules about who is even in the running.