Canada’s Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Department (IRCC) has invited 229 foreign doctors with Canadian work experience to apply for Canadian permanent residency through a lottery system this Thursday.
To participate in this draw, candidates must meet two requirements: a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 198 points and have created an Express Entry (EE) candidate profile before 7:40 pm on August 6, 2026.
With this latest round of lottery, the Express Entry immigration system has conducted 52 draws in 2026. The Provincial Nominee Program has had the most draws at 17, followed by the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) at 15 draws, the French-speaking category at 10 draws, and the category for doctors with Canadian work experience at 3 draws.
The Provincial Nominee Program and the Canadian Experience Class have always been the primary channels for immigrants to Canada, while the French-speaking category is a newly emphasized category by the Canadian government. The category for doctors with Canadian work experience is significant due to the doctor shortage in Canada.
In terms of the required minimum CRS scores, the category for doctors with Canadian work experience has the lowest score requirement compared to other categories: the CRS cut-off score for the February 19 draw was 169 points, June 24 draw was 223 points, and September 3 draw was 198 points. In total, 891 invitations were issued in these three draws.
On the other hand, the CRS minimum scores for the Canadian Experience Class have been above 500 points, and around 400 points for the French-speaking category.
The Express Entry immigration system has three types of invitation draws: general invitations, invitations for specific immigration programs, and invitations based on occupation.
In occupation-based invitations, the Minister of Immigration sets a specific occupational category to assist certain industries. Only candidates meeting the requirements can participate in the invitation draw.
From the results of the three draws for doctors with Canadian work experience, most invitees are unlikely to be selected in other types of draws because of their low CRS scores.
To meet Canada’s demand for doctors, the government established the “Doctors with Canadian Work Experience” draw category this year.
The 229 candidates who received invitations this time need to submit complete applications for permanent residency to the government within the specified timeframe.