Canada has invited 1,000 candidates to apply for permanent residence through its Express Entry system under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
The invitation round was conducted on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, according to the latest ministerial instructions published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 523 to receive an invitation.
“Number of invitations issued: 1,000,” the notice stated.
The department said candidates ranked among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group were eligible to receive invitations.
The draw was conducted at 10:13:44 UTC on August 18, with a tie-breaking rule of August 17, 2026, at 22:09:00 UTC.
Explaining the tie-breaking rule, IRCC said: “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.”
The invitations were issued under the Canadian Experience Class, one of the three federal economic immigration programs managed through Canada’s Express Entry system.
The ministerial instructions, signed by Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab, in Ottawa on August 18, stated that invitations could be issued between August 18 and August 19, 2026.
“Invitations may be issued to eligible foreign nationals who rank among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group ranking,” the instructions stated.
Express Entry is Canada’s main online immigration system for managing permanent residence applications from skilled workers.
The system covers the Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program and Federal Skilled Trades Program.
Under the system, candidates create profiles that are ranked using the CRS. The ranking awards points based on factors including age, education, language ability, work experience and other human capital characteristics.
The highest-ranked candidates are then invited to apply for permanent residence during periodic invitation rounds.
The Canadian Experience Class is aimed at skilled workers who already have Canadian work experience and want to become permanent residents.
Eligibility generally requires at least one year, or 1,560 hours, of skilled work experience in Canada within the previous three years in occupations classified under National Occupational Classification TEER categories 0, 1, 2 or 3.
Applicants must also meet minimum language requirements, including Canadian Language Benchmark 7 for TEER 0 or 1 occupations and CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3 occupations.
There is no education requirement for the Canadian Experience Class, and applicants are not required to demonstrate settlement funds. They must also plan to live outside Quebec.
The August 18 draw came amid frequent CEC-focused invitation rounds in 2026.
In an earlier Canadian Experience Class draw held on August 5, IRCC issued 3,000 invitations, with a lower CRS cut-off of 516.
The latest round issued fewer invitations while requiring a higher CRS score of 523, making it one of the more selective CEC draws recorded so far this year.
By mid-August 2026, IRCC had already issued more than 113,000 invitations through Express Entry, with a significant proportion going to Canadian Experience Class candidates.
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