Healthcare Express Entry Draws 2026 - Live CRS Cut-Offs

A healthcare and social services draw is a category-based round of invitations. Instead of ranking the whole Express Entry pool together, IRCC first narrows the pool to candidates whose recent work experience sits in one of the healthcare and social services occupations it has prioritised, and then invites the highest-ranked candidates inside that smaller group.

Because the field is narrowed before anyone is ranked, the CRS cut-off in a healthcare round is normally well below the cut-off of an all-program round held around the same time. That gap is the practical appeal of the category: a score that would never be competitive in a general draw can still be enough to be invited here.

Since these rounds began, IRCC has held 16 healthcare-category draws, issuing 41,850 invitations in total.

All Healthcare draw results

When is the next Healthcare draw?

IRCC has not announced a date. Across the last 6 rounds (Oct 15, 2025 – Sep 4, 2026) the gap has been about 65 days. That is a historical pattern, not a schedule.

Projection from past rounds, not an IRCC dateCarrying that gap forward from the last round points to the first half of November 2026, which is a window rather than a date: the last round was 15 days ago. The arithmetic does not mean IRCC will hold a round then. IRCC does not commit to a schedule and has paused round types without warning before.

Healthcare draw history by year

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

What changed for Healthcare draws

Is a Healthcare draw your route?

Who qualifies for Healthcare draws?

Healthcare has been part of category-based selection since it began in 2023. In 2025, IRCC revised the occupation list and renamed the category healthcare and social services. Social workers (NOC 41300) and social and community service workers (NOC 42201) were added. Counselling therapists (NOC 41301) were already on the 2024 healthcare list and were retained. Older rounds in the table above reflect the category names and rules in force when those rounds were held.

• At least 12 months of full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work) in the past 3 years, in a single occupation from the list below. The 12 months do not have to be continuous, and they do not have to be Canadian.
• That experience can sit under any listed NOC. It does not have to be the primary occupation on your Express Entry profile. You cannot combine two different NOC codes to make up the year.
• An Express Entry profile in the pool, and eligibility for at least one of the three federal programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program or the Canadian Experience Class.
• A CRS score at or above the cut-off published for that specific round.
• Work experience that genuinely matches the lead statement and most of the main duties of the NOC code. IRCC assesses duties, not job titles.

IRCC raised the work-experience bar for its occupational categories from 6 months to 12 months when it published the 2026 category list in February 2026. If you built your plan around the old 6-month rule, it is worth re-checking your profile.

The 37 occupations eligible for Healthcare draws

These are the occupations IRCC lists for this category. Twelve months in one listed NOC is enough. It does not have to be the primary NOC on your profile. You cannot add two different codes together to make up the year. Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (NOC 33102) are on this list; personal support workers whose duties match that code may qualify. Qualifying physician experience gained abroad can count for healthcare and social services. The separate physicians category requires Canadian work experience.

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

How to be considered in a Healthcare draw

1. 1

   Check your NOC code against the list

   There are 37 occupations on the Healthcare list, and the round is run against the version in force on the day. Most recently Healthcare and Social Services Occupations, 2026-Version 3. Match the occupation you actually performed, not the job title on your contract: IRCC compares your duties with the lead statement and main duties of the NOC, and a mismatch is the most common reason a category never reaches someone.

2. 2

   Confirm you meet the 12-month rule

   You need 12 months of full-time work, or the part-time equivalent, in a single listed occupation within the last 3 years. It does not have to be continuous, it does not have to be Canadian, and it does not have to be the primary NOC on your profile. You cannot combine two different codes.

3. 3

   Watch the trap specific to this category

   Match your actual duties to a listed NOC rather than relying on your job title. Personal support workers whose duties match NOC 33102 may qualify; the title alone is not enough. Social workers (NOC 41300) are listed, but education counsellors (NOC 41320) are not on the current healthcare and social services list.

4. 4

   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.

5. 5

   Create or update your Express Entry profile

   Enter the work history that evidences the category. There is no separate category application. IRCC selects from profiles as they stand when a round is run.

6. 6

   Keep language results and documents valid

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

7. 7

   Keep raising your CRS in the meantime

   Category rounds still rank by score. Healthcare rounds have cleared anywhere between CRS 422 and 510, so the number you need depends entirely on which round you are caught by. Retaking a language test or pursuing a provincial nomination moves you up the queue inside the category; a job offer will not, since those CRS points were removed on 25 March 2025.

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.

• FR French-language draws Category-based round
• CEC Canadian Experience Class draws Program-specific round
• PNP PNP draws Program-specific round
• ST STEM-category draws Category-based round
• TR Trades-category draws Category-based round
• EE General (all-program) draws All-program round
• MD Physician-category draws Category-based round
• SM Senior-manager draws Category-based round
• RS Researcher-category draws Category-based round
• CAF Skilled-military-recruit draws Category-based round
• ED Education-category draws Category-based round
• TP Transport-category draws Category-based round
• AG Agriculture and agri-food draws Category-based round
• FST Federal Skilled Trades draws Program-specific round
• ALL Full draw history (every round) Every Express Entry round since 2015