On June 24, 2026, IRCC ran the strangest-looking draw of the year: 271 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) at a CRS cutoff of just 223. A score that low would normally be a typo. It isn't. This was a category-based round for Physicians with Canadian Work Experience — only the second of its kind ever — and the tiny, specialized pool it draws from is exactly why the number is so small. If you're a doctor working in Canada, this is one of the most accessible PR pathways in the entire system. If you're not, the 223 means nothing for your odds.
What happened
On June 24, 2026, IRCC invited 271 candidates in the Physicians with Canadian Work Experience category with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 223, according to CIC News and Immigration News Canada, citing the official IRCC rounds-of-invitations page. To be in range, candidates needed a profile created before May 31, 2026 at 18:13 UTC.
This was round #421, the 33rd Express Entry round of 2026, and the third day of a four-day cluster — slotted between the June 23 CEC round (4,000 ITAs at CRS 516) and the June 25 healthcare round (4,000 ITAs at CRS 475). It's the second physicians draw ever. The first ran on February 19, 2026, at an even lower cutoff of 169 — at the time, one of the lowest CRS thresholds in Express Entry history.
Why a CRS of 223 doesn't mean what it looks like
A 223 cutoff is not a sign that Express Entry is getting easier. It's a sign of how category-based selection works.
In a general draw, you're ranked against the whole pool — hundreds of thousands of people — so the cutoff lands in the 500s. In the physicians category, you're ranked only against other physicians with Canadian work experience who've opted in. That's a very small, very specific group. When IRCC wants to invite a few hundred of them, the line falls to wherever the bottom of that short queue sits — on June 24, that was 223. The score reflects the size of the eligible group, not the difficulty of getting in.
The reason the category exists at all is a problem IRCC fixed in December 2025. Most Canadian physicians are paid through fee-for-service billing — they invoice the provincial health plan rather than draw a salary from an employer. Under the old Express Entry rules, that arrangement often didn't count as qualifying "employment," which quietly locked many practising doctors out of the Canadian Experience Class despite years of work in Canada. When Immigration Minister Lena Diab announced the physicians category, IRCC clarified that fee-for-service experience counts — removing the barrier that had kept this group out. The low cutoffs are the system finally inviting a population it had been excluding.
Physicians draws in 2026
Two rounds so far, both small, both at very low cutoffs. The category has issued 662 invitations total this year.
| Draw Date | Physician ITAs | CRS Cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| February 19 | 391 | 169 |
| June 24 | 271 | 223 |
The cutoff rose 54 points between February and June, and the round was smaller — consistent with a niche pool that gets partly cleared each time a draw runs, then slowly refills. Don't expect these rounds to be large; expect them to be accessible to the specific people they target.
Who qualifies
The physicians category is narrow by design. To be eligible, you generally need:
- At least 12 months of full-time Canadian work experience (or the part-time equivalent) in the last three years, in a single eligible occupation — and fee-for-service work qualifies.
- Experience in one of three physician occupations: general practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102), specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine (31100), or specialists in surgery (31101).
- A valid Express Entry profile, with the language, education, and other minimums any Express Entry program requires.
If that's you, the physicians category is likely the lowest-barrier route to permanent residence you'll find. If your healthcare work falls outside those three codes — nursing, allied health, lab and technical roles — you're not in this category, but you may be in the much broader Healthcare and Social Services category, which covers 37 occupations and cleared at 475 the very next day.
If you got invited
You have 60 days from June 24 — until around August 23, 2026 — to submit a complete permanent residence application. Beyond the standard Express Entry documents (language test, police certificates, medical exam), physicians should pay special attention to:
- Proof of fee-for-service experience. If you bill the provincial plan rather than draw a salary, assemble billing records, contracts, and a letter from the health authority or clinic confirming your role, hours, and dates — your file needs to demonstrate the Canadian experience clearly, since it doesn't come on a standard employer letterhead.
- Your provincial licence and registration with the relevant College of Physicians and Surgeons — keep documentation current.
- An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for your medical degree if it's from outside Canada, via an approved assessor.
CRS score check
Not a physician but working in Canadian healthcare? The broader category may be your lane: CRS Calculator | All Express Entry Draws | June 25 Healthcare Draw | Healthcare Workers Immigration Guide | Express Entry Categories Explained
Sources
- CIC News — Canada issues physicians invitations to apply for permanent residence
- Immigration News Canada — Latest Express Entry draw on June 25 (four-draw cluster detail)
- CIC News — These are the occupations eligible for IRCC's new physicians category