Canada has invited 1,000 Express Entry Candidates to apply for Permanent Residence.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that Canada has invited 1,000 candidates through its Express Entry system to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class.
The invitation round was conducted on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, according to the latest ministerial instructions published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Candidates needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 523 to receive an Invitation to Apply.
“Number of invitations issued: 1,000,” the department stated.
IRCC explained that eligible foreign nationals ranked among the top 1,000 candidates in the designated group qualified for invitations.
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The draw was conducted at 10:13:44 UTC on August 18, with a tie-breaking date of August 17, 2026, at 22:09:00 UTC.
Under the tie-breaking rule, where multiple candidates have the lowest qualifying score, priority is determined by the date and time their Express Entry profiles were submitted.
The ministerial instructions, signed in Ottawa by Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab, indicated that invitations could be issued between August 18 and 19.
“Invitations may be issued to eligible foreign nationals who rank among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group ranking,” the instructions stated.
Express Entry is Canada’s main online system for processing permanent residence applications from skilled workers.
The system manages applications under three federal economic immigration programmes: the Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program and Federal Skilled Trades Program.
Candidates are ranked using the Comprehensive Ranking System, which awards points based on factors such as age, education, language proficiency and work experience. The highest-ranked candidates are invited to apply during periodic draws.
The Canadian Experience Class is designed for skilled workers who have acquired work experience in Canada and intend to become permanent residents.
Applicants generally require at least one year, or 1,560 hours, of eligible Canadian work experience acquired within the preceding three years. The employment must fall under National Occupational Classification TEER categories 0, 1, 2 or 3.
Applicants must also meet minimum language requirements—Canadian Language Benchmark 7 for TEER 0 and 1 occupations and CLB 5 for TEER 2 and 3 jobs.
The programme has no formal education requirement, and candidates are not required to provide proof of settlement funds. However, successful applicants must intend to reside outside Quebec.
The August 18 draw followed an earlier Canadian Experience Class round held on August 5, when 3,000 invitations were issued with a minimum CRS score of 516.
The latest draw was more competitive, with fewer invitations and a seven-point increase in the cut-off score.
By mid-August 2026, IRCC had reportedly issued more than 113,000 invitations through Express Entry, with Canadian Experience Class candidates receiving a significant proportion.
