Express Entry draws for French speakers

Every round

What the French category is

Since 2023, on top of general and program rounds, IRCC runs category-based draws. The French-language proficiency category invites candidates in the pool who have CLB 7 or higher in all four French abilities (listening, reading, writing and speaking), proven with the TCF Canada or the TEF Canada.

What makes this category so valuable is the cutoff. In the 2026 Canadian Experience Class rounds the minimum CRS was around 515. In the French category, the 2026 cutoff ranged from 382 to 435. It is a different line, with a different bar.

How to read the table

• Invitations are ITAs (Invitations to Apply): how many people were invited to apply for permanent residence in that round.
• Minimum CRS is the score of the lowest ranked person invited. Anyone at or above it who met the French requirement was invited.
• Vs. previous shows how much the cutoff moved since the previous French round. Green means it went down.

When several people tie at the minimum CRS, IRCC applies a tie-breaking rule: candidates who created their profile before a set date and time get in. In the October 27, 2026 draw, for example, people at 407 points were invited only if their profile was created before July 13, 2026.

What the series shows

Volume. In 2025 there were 48,000 invitations in 9 French rounds. In 2026 there are already 60,500 in 12 rounds, close to 40 percent of all Express Entry invitations of the year up to the end of October. This is not a niche: it is one of the biggest channels in the system today.

Cutoff. Large, frequent rounds pull the cutoff down; long gaps let the pool fill up and push it up. That is what happened in 2026: 382 on August 19, then almost two months without a French draw, and 435 on October 16. Eleven days later, with another 5,000 invitations, the cutoff came back to 407.

No one knows the next number. The series shows a trend, not a guarantee, and IRCC can change the size and frequency of rounds at any time.

What you need to get in this line

1. An active profile in the Express Entry pool, eligible under a federal program: Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class or Federal Skilled Trades. French does not replace eligibility: it selects you within the pool.
2. CLB 7 in all four abilities, on a valid test. The lowest of the four is what counts: three CLB 8 and one CLB 6 do not qualify. The score by score conversion is in the guide to how the TCF Canada works.
3. A CRS above the round's cutoff. French itself helps: today, CLB 7 in all four French abilities is worth up to 50 additional points (50 if you also have CLB 5 or higher in all four English abilities; 25 if not), on top of second official language points. IRCC has discussed changing this bonus, so check the IRCC points grid before doing your own math.

If you are still far from CLB 7, the guide to how long it takes helps you set a timeline.

The most common mistake

Taking the test too early. TCF Canada results are valid for 2 years for IRCC and must be valid when you enter the pool and when you apply. Taking the test at the start of the journey, still far from 7, means paying the fee and risking that it expires before it is useful.

The safer path is to practice in the exam format until all four scores clear CLB 7 with room to spare on practice tests, and only then book. At Atelier du TCF you take CO and CE tests with an estimated CLB score and get your writing and speaking corrected against the official criteria.