Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held its largest French-language proficiency draw to date on 17 December, inviting 6,000 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence with a historically low Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off of 399. The draw caps a frenetic December that has already seen 19,522 invitations—making it the busiest month of 2025 and signalling how Ottawa plans to meet revised admissions targets for 2026.
Lowering the CRS below 400 dramatically widens the pool of francophone and bilingual professionals eligible for permanent residence, advancing Ottawa’s goal of boosting francophone immigration outside Quebec. The timing also gives employers in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta an immediate pipeline of French-speaking candidates to fill shortages in customer-facing and public-service roles.
VisaHQ can further streamline the process for both individual applicants and HR teams by coordinating document procurement, scheduling biometrics and tracking application milestones through its digital platform. Explore how the service can accelerate Express Entry preparation and other Canadian immigration needs at https://www.visahq.com/canada/.
![IRCC Issues Record 6,000 Invitations in French-Language Express Entry Draw as CRS Dips Below 400]()
From a corporate mobility perspective, the draw underscores the strategic value of language training: sponsoring French courses for existing foreign workers could quickly make them competitive in future rounds. The record size of the invitation round also shows that IRCC’s new category-based draw system can scale quickly—a positive sign for sectors watching the healthcare- and STEM-specific categories.
Candidates have 60 days to submit complete applications, meaning a surge of profile validations, police certificates and medical exams will hit the system during the holiday period. Employers should budget extra lead time for onboarding in Q2 2026 as processing centres absorb the influx.
Looking ahead, practitioners expect at least one more category-based round before year-end, potentially focused on trades or education occupations. Mobility teams should prepare for fluctuating CRS thresholds and ensure active profiles remain up-to-date with language test results and employment records.
Lowering the CRS below 400 dramatically widens the pool of francophone and bilingual professionals eligible for permanent residence, advancing Ottawa’s goal of boosting francophone immigration outside Quebec. The timing also gives employers in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta an immediate pipeline of French-speaking candidates to fill shortages in customer-facing and public-service roles.
VisaHQ can further streamline the process for both individual applicants and HR teams by coordinating document procurement, scheduling biometrics and tracking application milestones through its digital platform. Explore how the service can accelerate Express Entry preparation and other Canadian immigration needs at https://www.visahq.com/canada/.
From a corporate mobility perspective, the draw underscores the strategic value of language training: sponsoring French courses for existing foreign workers could quickly make them competitive in future rounds. The record size of the invitation round also shows that IRCC’s new category-based draw system can scale quickly—a positive sign for sectors watching the healthcare- and STEM-specific categories.
Candidates have 60 days to submit complete applications, meaning a surge of profile validations, police certificates and medical exams will hit the system during the holiday period. Employers should budget extra lead time for onboarding in Q2 2026 as processing centres absorb the influx.
Looking ahead, practitioners expect at least one more category-based round before year-end, potentially focused on trades or education occupations. Mobility teams should prepare for fluctuating CRS thresholds and ensure active profiles remain up-to-date with language test results and employment records.
