French-language proficiency Express Entry draws

Who these draws invite

To be eligible, IRCC asks for French-language test results of at least NCLC 7 in all four abilities, as well as meeting every requirement in the instructions for the round. IRCC: Express Entry category-based selection

French-language proficiency is one of the categories IRCC lists as current. Category-based rounds supplement the other round types, and IRCC may not need one if enough top-ranking candidates in the category are invited through general or program-specific rounds.

IRCC's round names for this group have changed over time. This page counts all of them: “French-Language proficiency 2026-Version 2”, “French language proficiency (Version 1)”.

French-language proficiency draws by year

Every French-language proficiency draw

When is the next draw?

IRCC doesn't publish draw dates or say in advance which program or category the next draw will target. Since November 3, 2026, rounds are paused while IRCC recalculates every profile under the new points rules, which it says could take up to 2 weeks. How draws have been spaced this year.

Draws before November 3, 2026 ranked candidates under an earlier points grid, so older cut-offs are not directly comparable with newer ones.

Other programs and categories

• Transport occupations: latest October 28, 2026, CRS 477
• Provincial Nominee Program: latest October 26, 2026, CRS 761
• Canadian Experience Class: latest October 15, 2026, CRS 519
• Trade occupations: latest October 1, 2026, CRS 476
• Senior managers with Canadian work experience: latest September 16, 2026, CRS 389
• Healthcare and social services occupations: latest September 4, 2026, CRS 475
• Physicians with Canadian work experience: latest September 3, 2026, CRS 198
• Skilled military recruits: latest July 23, 2026, CRS 368
• Education occupations: latest September 17, 2025, CRS 462
• General (all-program): latest April 23, 2024, CRS 529
• STEM occupations: latest April 11, 2024, CRS 491
• Agriculture and agri-food occupations: latest February 16, 2024, CRS 437
• Federal Skilled Worker Program: latest February 2, 2023, CRS 489
• Federal Skilled Trades Program: latest August 6, 2020, CRS 415
• All Express Entry draws, newest first

Sources

• IRCC: Ministerial instructions respecting invitations to apply (every round of invitations) (page modified April 27, 2026)
• IRCC: Express Entry category-based selection (page modified October 16, 2026)
• IRCC: Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) criteria (page modified November 3, 2026)

Last checked against these pages on November 4, 2026. IRCC is the authority; this page is an independent summary and gives no legal advice. The draw table is a convenience copy of IRCC's, refreshed on November 4, 2026.