Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held its fourth Express Entry draw of the month on September 15, 2026, inviting 2,000 Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates to apply for permanent residence. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off was 519, with the tie-break set at March 26, 2026, 00:16:39 UTC. The draw underscores IRCC’s ongoing strategy of converting temporary residents already working in Canada into permanent talent. CEC rounds focus on people who have at least one year of skilled Canadian work experience—typically post-graduation work-permit holders, intra-company transferees, and other foreign workers in TEER 0-3 jobs. Because these candidates are already inside Canada, their transition to permanent status is faster and places less strain on settlement capacity than admitting brand-new arrivals. Employers that rely on foreign workers should note that CEC candidates often have open work-permit options once they receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA). Bridging Open Work Permits help businesses avoid talent gaps, provided applications are filed quickly and reference letters meet IRCC standards. In practice, HR teams should start gathering documents—police certificates, education credentials, language tests—within days of an ITA to meet the strict 60-day filing window. For candidates who missed the cut-off, there are practical levers: boosting language scores, gaining more Canadian work experience or obtaining a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nomination worth 600 CRS points. IRCC’s category-based draws (health-care, STEM, trades, transport, agriculture and French-language) also continue to offer alternative pathways with lower CRS thresholds.
Source: VG Immigration Services
