Canada invites 1,000 candidates to apply for permanent residence

Canada has extended invitations to 1,000 candidates to apply for permanent residence, focusing on those eligible under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) through its Express Entry system. The latest invitation round, conducted on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, required applicants to achieve a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 523.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced the details in its latest ministerial instructions. The notice specified that 1,000 invitations were issued, and candidates ranked within the top 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in this specific draw were selected. The draw occurred at 10:13:44 UTC on August 18, 2026. A tie-breaking rule was applied, meaning that if multiple candidates shared the lowest score, priority was given to those who submitted their Express Entry profiles earliest, with the cut-off set at August 17, 2026, at 22:09:00 UTC.

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Number of invitations issued: 1,000.

These invitations were specifically for the Canadian Experience Class, one of the programs managed by the Express Entry system. The ministerial instructions, signed by Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Lena Metlege Diab, indicated that invitations could be issued between August 18 and August 19, 2026. This round followed a trend of frequent CEC-specific draws observed in 2026. A previous CEC draw on August 5 issued 3,000 invitations with a lower CRS score requirement of 516.

Express Entry is Canada's primary online platform for managing permanent residence applications from skilled workers, encompassing the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Candidates are ranked based on factors like age, education, language proficiency, and work experience. The CEC is designed for skilled workers with Canadian work experience seeking permanent residency, generally requiring at least one year of skilled work experience in Canada within the last three years and minimum language proficiency.

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If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.