IRCC issued 229 ITAs on September 3, 2026 in a Physicians with Canadian Work Experience draw at CRS 198 — the second-lowest cutoff this category has ever seen, down from 223 in June.
On September 3, 2026, IRCC issued 229 ITAs in a Physicians with Canadian Work Experience draw at a CRS cutoff of 198 — the second-lowest cutoff this category has ever recorded, and a drop of 25 points from the last physicians round in June. It's a narrow lane (three draws all year, one specific occupation group), but if you're a physician with Canadian work experience, this is the number that matters right now.
IRCC issued 229 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates in the Physicians with Canadian Work Experience category, at a minimum CRS score of 198. Candidates needed an Express Entry profile created before 7:40 p.m. UTC on August 6, 2026 to be included. This was the 52nd Express Entry round of 2026 — one of two draws IRCC held that week for candidates with existing Canadian ties, alongside a Canadian Experience Class round two days earlier and a much larger Healthcare and Social Services draw the day after.
Physicians with Canadian Work Experience is the smallest and least frequent Express Entry category IRCC runs. It's had exactly three rounds since launching in February 2026:
| Date | ITAs issued | CRS cutoff |
|---|
| February 19, 2026 | 391 | 169 |
| June 24, 2026 | 271 | 223 |
| September 3, 2026 | 229 | 198 |
Two things stand out. First, the invitation count keeps shrinking — 391, then 271, then 229 — even as the pool of eligible physicians should be growing over time. Second, the cutoff isn't moving in one direction: it jumped 54 points between the first two rounds, then fell 25 points in this one. With a category this small, a handful of high-scoring candidates entering or leaving the pool between draws can swing the cutoff by dozens of points — there isn't enough volume yet for a stable trend the way there is with CEC or PNP draws.
Physicians with Canadian Work Experience has now delivered 891 ITAs across three rounds in 2026, a small fraction of the roughly 117,656 total Express Entry invitations issued through the first 52 rounds of the year.
If your CRS score is 198 or higher and you're eligible under Physicians with Canadian Work Experience: you should have received an ITA in this round, provided your profile was in the pool before August 6. This category targets physicians (NOC 31100/31101 and related codes) who have Canadian work experience — check that your NOC code and employment history are accurately reflected in your profile if you qualified but weren't invited.
If you're a physician without Canadian work experience: this category doesn't apply to you yet. You'd need to qualify under a different Express Entry stream — Federal Skilled Worker, CEC once you've built Canadian experience, or a relevant PNP stream — while this occupation-specific category remains reserved for candidates who've already worked in Canada.
If you're watching this category to gauge where the bar sits: don't extrapolate a trend from three data points spread across seven months. Plan around the current cutoff of 198, but treat any prediction for the next physicians round as a guess rather than a forecast — IRCC doesn't publish a schedule for this category, and the swings so far have been large in both directions.
Tip
With only three physicians draws in nineteen months and invitation counts shrinking each time, this category is thinning out rather than becoming a reliable, frequent pathway. If you're a physician who also qualifies under CEC or a PNP stream with a more predictable cadence, don't wait on the next physicians round — apply through whichever category you're eligible for first.
You have 60 days from September 3 — until around November 2, 2026 — to submit a complete permanent residence application. Gather your language test results, an ECA for any foreign credentials, police certificates from every country you've lived in for 6+ months since age 18, an immigration medical exam, and proof of funds (unless you're exempt as a CEC-eligible applicant).
IRCC held four Express Entry draws in the same week as this one — CEC on September 1, this physicians round on September 3, and a 3,500-ITA Healthcare and Social Services draw on September 4. The next round is broadly expected around mid-September, with category-based draws for French-language proficiency or trades among the likely candidates alongside the usual CEC and PNP rotation.
Where do you stand? CRS Calculator | All Express Entry Draws | How to Improve Your CRS Score | Medical Doctors' Guide to Canadian Immigration
Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute immigration advice. Always verify information with official IRCC sources and consult a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) or licensed immigration lawyer for advice specific to your situation.