Express Entry Physicians Draw 2026: CRS Cut-Off Just 198

On September 3, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada invited 229 candidates in the Physicians with Canadian Work Experience category at a Comprehensive Ranking System cut-off of 198, according to the Express Entry rounds of invitations page on canada.ca. That is the lowest cut-off of any Express Entry round since the February 19, 2026 physicians round, and it sits 323 points below the Canadian Experience Class round held two days earlier. If you are a doctor already licensed and working in Canada, this is the lowest bar on the board right now.

What was the CRS cut-off in the September 3, 2026 physicians draw?

The cut-off was 198 and IRCC issued 229 invitations, according to canada.ca. The department lists the round as "Physicians with Canadian Work Experience, 2026-Version 1" and records the rank needed as 229 or above. canada.ca also publishes a tie-breaking rule of August 6, 2026 at 19:40:38 UTC, and explains that 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. That timestamp is not a separate eligibility requirement. It only separates candidates who were tied at 198.

How does 198 compare with the other physicians draws in 2026?

The score of 198 is the second lowest of the three physicians rounds held so far in 2026, behind 169 in February, per the Ministerial Instructions rounds table on canada.ca. Across those three rounds IRCC has issued 891 invitations in this category during 2026.

Why is the physicians cut-off so much lower than a regular draw?

A category-based round ranks only the candidates who meet that category's requirements, so the group being ranked is far smaller than the general Express Entry pool. According to canada.ca, in category-based rounds IRCC invites candidates in the pool who are eligible for a specific category established by the Minister to meet an identified economic goal, ranks candidates in the pool who meet the category requirements, and invites the top-ranking candidates among them. Meeting the category requirements does not by itself produce an invitation. The contrast within the same week is stark.

A low cut-off does not mean a lower standard. It reflects how few people are eligible for the category, not a relaxed assessment. canada.ca is also explicit that to be invited through a category-based round you must first meet the minimum criteria for Express Entry, including being eligible for one of the three immigration programs it covers, and meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round.

Who qualifies for the Express Entry physicians category?

To be eligible for this category, canada.ca states that you must have accumulated, within the past 3 years, at least 12 months of full-time work experience, or an equal amount of part-time experience, in a single occupation listed in its table, in Canada, and must meet all requirements in the instructions for that round. Two qualifiers on that page matter and are widely missed: the experience does not need to be continuous, and part-time experience counts if it adds up to the same amount. The category covers three occupations and no others, listed on the category-based selection page on canada.ca.

Being a physician in the everyday sense is not the test. The test is 12 months of Canadian experience in one of those three NOC codes, so other health professionals do not qualify here even when their work is clinical. Separately, canada.ca states that to work as a medical doctor in Canada you must first have your foreign credentials assessed and be licensed as a medical doctor through a provincial or territorial regulatory authority, and it describes the category for physicians as new in 2026. You must also still be eligible for one of the three programs managed through Express Entry before any category round can reach you. If you are unsure how your profile scores or whether your occupation is entered under the right code, that is exactly what Express Entry and CRS guidance is for.

What if you are a doctor without Canadian work experience?

canada.ca lists five programs for internationally trained doctors who do not have Canadian experience as a medical doctor yet, not one. On its page for medical doctors who have not worked in Canada, canada.ca names the Provincial Nominee Program, Express Entry itself, the Atlantic Immigration Program, the Rural Community Immigration Pilot and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot. The three regional routes each start from a job offer with a designated employer. Express Entry is on that list because canada.ca frames it for doctors who are eligible for one of its three programs, have experience working as a medical doctor, and do not have a job offer in Canada yet.

The Provincial Nominee Program carries the newest incentives. canada.ca states that provinces and territories have up to 5,000 federal immigration spaces reserved to nominate medical doctors with job offers or letters of support, and on its medical doctors hub page canada.ca adds that doctors nominated by a province or territory will also get a work permit processed in 14 days, so they can work while they wait for permanent residence. That route begins with a job offer or a letter of support rather than with a CRS score, and the provincial nominee program is where it runs.

What should you do right now?

Confirm that your Express Entry profile is live and accurate today, because a profile that is not sitting in the pool cannot be invited at any score. canada.ca says the chosen categories are announced in advance. It does not publish the dates of individual rounds, and the gap between rounds in this category has been months rather than weeks: February, then June, then September. The people who miss these rounds are rarely the people who scored too low. They are the people whose profile had expired, whose occupation was entered under the wrong code, or whose language results had gone stale. It is worth comparing this round with the June 24 physicians draw at CRS 223 to see how much the cut-off can move between rounds.