Express Entry Healthcare Draw: 4,000 ITAs at CRS 475

By Dimple Verma, RCIC-IRB R708308 — VG Immigration Services Inc.

Published June 25, 2026 · Based on the official IRCC Rounds of Invitations bulletin (canada.ca) and CIC News coverage

IRCC Just Issued 4,000 ITAs to Healthcare and Social Services Candidates — CRS 475, Draw No. 34 of 2026

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 4,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) on June 25, 2026 at 13:51:43 UTC in a category-based Express Entry round targeting Healthcare and Social Services occupations. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score was 475, and the tie-breaking rule was set at May 21, 2026 at 12:14:09 UTC. This is IRCC’s second Healthcare and Social Services draw of 2026 and the 34th Express Entry selection round of the year overall.

In our June 2026 next-draw prediction, we flagged Healthcare and Social Services as one of the most likely category-based rounds for late June — and today’s bulletin confirmed it. Below is the full draw breakdown, the eligible NOC list, a side-by-side comparison with February’s Healthcare draw and yesterday’s Physicians round, and a strategic playbook for healthcare candidates currently sitting in the pool.

Draw No. 34 of 2026 — Official Details

Draw type	Category-based selection — Healthcare and Social Services occupations (Version 3)
Date and time of round	June 25, 2026 at 13:51:43 UTC
Number of invitations issued	4,000
Rank required to be invited	4,000 or above
CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate	475
Tie-breaking rule	May 21, 2026 at 12:14:09 UTC
Position in 2026 calendar	34th selection round of the year; 2nd Healthcare & Social Services draw of 2026

If you submitted your profile before May 21, 2026 at 12:14:09 UTC and your CRS score was 475 or higher under a healthcare or social services NOC, you should have received an ITA in your IRCC secure account today.

Key Takeaways at a Glance

• Volume: 4,000 ITAs — same volume as the February 20, 2026 Healthcare and Social Services draw.
• CRS cutoff jumped 8 points from February (467 → 475) — a sign that the healthcare pool has deepened despite the high draw volume.
• Healthcare YTD totals: 8,000 ITAs across 2 draws so far in 2026 — exactly matching the cadence we predicted last week.
• This is a category-based round, not a general Express Entry draw — your top-30 most-recent NOC must appear on IRCC’s published Healthcare and Social Services list.
• Tie-break is generous: May 21, 2026 at 12:14:09 UTC means candidates who entered the pool through late May are within scope.
• Healthcare cutoffs continue to undercut CEC: Yesterday’s CEC draw (June 23) cleared at CRS 516 with 4,000 ITAs — Healthcare’s 475 is 41 points lower, a meaningful arbitrage for candidates eligible under both.
• 2026 ITA total reaches 89,067 across all draw types.

Eligible Healthcare and Social Services NOCs (2026 Version 3 Category)

For 2026, IRCC expanded the Healthcare category into Healthcare and Social Services occupations — adding more than a dozen social service and care-work NOC codes to the original physician/nursing/allied-health list. To be eligible for this draw, at least one of your top three most-recent NOCs (worked in the last three years) must appear on the list below.

Physicians, dentists and senior clinical roles

• NOC 30010 — Managers in health care
• NOC 31100 — Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
• NOC 31101 — Specialists in surgery
• NOC 31102 — General practitioners and family physicians
• NOC 31103 — Veterinarians
• NOC 31110 — Dentists
• NOC 31111 — Optometrists
• NOC 31112 — Audiologists and speech-language pathologists
• NOC 31120 — Pharmacists
• NOC 31121 — Dietitians and nutritionists

Therapists and allied health professionals

• NOC 31201 — Chiropractors
• NOC 31202 — Physiotherapists
• NOC 31203 — Occupational therapists
• NOC 31204 — Kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy and assessment
• NOC 31209 — Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating
• NOC 32101 — Licensed practical nurses
• NOC 32102 — Paramedical occupations
• NOC 32103 — Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
• NOC 32109 — Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment

Nurses and nurse practitioners

• NOC 31300 — Nursing coordinators and supervisors
• NOC 31301 — Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
• NOC 31302 — Nurse practitioners
• NOC 31303 — Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals

Social services, counsellors and support workers

• NOC 41300 — Social workers
• NOC 41301 — Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies
• NOC 41320 — Educational counsellors
• NOC 41321 — Career development practitioners and career counsellors (except education)
• NOC 42201 — Social and community service workers
• NOC 42202 — Early childhood educators and assistants
• NOC 33102 — Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
• NOC 44101 — Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations
• NOC 31200 — Psychologists

If your NOC is not on this list, today’s draw did not apply to you — but you may still qualify for general Express Entry rounds, the trades category, French-language proficiency, PNP, or CEC. See our 2026 Express Entry overhaul guide for the full picture.

2026 Healthcare and Social Services Draws: Side-by-Side

Draw date	ITAs issued	CRS cutoff	Tie-break	Notes
February 20, 2026	4,000	467	—	First Healthcare & Social Services draw of 2026
June 25, 2026	4,000	475 (+8)	May 21, 2026 12:14:09 UTC	Today’s draw — pool depth pushing CRS upward

The 8-point CRS climb from February to June reflects a steadily deepening healthcare pool — more candidates have submitted profiles since the spring, and the pool’s mean and median CRS scores have both risen. Importantly, the cutoff did not climb as steeply as PNP or CEC cutoffs over the same period (PNP from 749 → 730, CEC from 508 → 516), which means Healthcare remains relatively accessible for candidates without a provincial nomination or substantial Canadian work experience.

June 2026 So Far: Four Express Entry Rounds in Four Days

IRCC has accelerated invitation cadence dramatically this week. Today’s Healthcare round is the fourth Express Entry draw in just over 72 hours:

Date	Draw type	ITAs	CRS cutoff
June 22, 2026	Provincial Nominee Program	955	730
June 23, 2026	Canadian Experience Class	4,000	516
June 24, 2026	Physicians with Canadian work experience	271	223
June 25, 2026	Healthcare and Social Services	4,000	475

That is 9,226 ITAs in four days, with CRS cutoffs ranging from 223 (Physicians) to 730 (PNP). The pattern signals IRCC is aggressively clearing category and program-specific backlogs before the Q3 quota recalibration. For a full breakdown of the Physicians round, see our Physicians draw analysis (CRS 223, 271 ITAs) and for the CEC round see our June 23 CEC draw recap.

2026 Year-to-Date Express Entry Totals (Through June 25)

Draw type	Number of draws	ITAs issued YTD
Canadian Experience Class	10	41,250
French-Language Proficiency	6	30,500
Healthcare and Social Services	2	8,000
Provincial Nominee Program	12	5,405
Trades	1	3,000
Physicians with Canadian work experience	2	662
Senior Managers with Canadian work experience	1	250
Total ITAs (all draw types, YTD 2026)	34	89,067

Two structural patterns stand out: (1) Healthcare draws are larger per round (4,000) than PNP (averaging ~450) but happen far less frequently — only twice this year vs PNP’s 12 rounds; and (2) French-Language Proficiency continues to deliver the lowest CRS cutoffs of any category, making francophone candidates the highest-leverage applicants in the 2026 pool. See our Francophone Pathway Decision Tree if you have any French ability.

Strategy: What Healthcare Candidates Should Do Right Now

1. If you received an ITA today: lock in your eAPR timeline

You have 60 days from June 25, 2026 — until August 24, 2026 — to submit a complete electronic Application for Permanent Residence (eAPR). The most common reasons healthcare files fail at the eAPR stage are: missing or weak NOC reference letters from current and former employers, expired language test results, IRCC-specified proof of funds shortfalls, and incomplete medical exam coordination. Build your document checklist this weekend.

2. If you missed the cutoff by under 30 points: language is your fastest lever

Moving from CLB 7 to CLB 9 in all four English abilities is worth 50+ CRS points for most healthcare applicants. CELPIP General or IELTS General can be retested in 2-3 weeks. For francophone candidates, layering TEF Canada or TCF Canada on top of an existing English test can add another 50 bilingual bonus points. Our complete 2026 language testing guide walks through the exact test choice for each profile.

3. If you missed by more than 30 points: PNP is your highest-yield option

A provincial nomination adds 600 CRS points — virtually guaranteeing an ITA in the next PNP-specific draw. Ontario (OINP Human Capital Priorities), British Columbia (BC PNP Skills Immigration), Alberta (AAIP), Saskatchewan (SINP), and Manitoba (MPNP) all run targeted healthcare streams. Several provinces issued healthcare-specific Notifications of Interest in early Q2 2026.

4. If you’re a foreign-trained healthcare worker without Canadian experience: the Atlantic and Rural pathways often beat Express Entry

The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) and the Rural Community Immigration Pilot both prioritize healthcare positions in nursing, paramedicine, and long-term care, and they can be faster than waiting for the next Express Entry healthcare round. See our 2026 AIP employer-endorsement changes guide for the current rules.

5. If you are an internationally educated nurse waiting on licensing: don’t pause your immigration file

You can build your Express Entry profile, run language tests, and even submit an eAPR before your provincial nursing registration is finalized — as long as your most recent NOC and work experience qualify under 31301 (RN) or 32101 (LPN) and you have continuous full-time experience in that role abroad. Many of our highest-CRS healthcare clients are still in the NNAS (National Nursing Assessment Service) process when they receive their ITA.

When Is the Next Healthcare Draw? Our Prediction

Based on 2026’s pattern (one Healthcare draw in February, one in late June), we expect IRCC to run a third Healthcare and Social Services draw in late September or early October 2026, likely sized between 3,000 and 5,000 ITAs with a CRS cutoff in the 475–490 range — depending on how much the pool grows over the summer and on the operational status of the proposed 2026 Express Entry reforms.

We will publish a fresh draw-prediction article every Sunday through the summer. To follow along, bookmark our category-based draws hub.

How VG Immigration Can Help

At VG Immigration Services Inc., principal consultant Dimple Verma (RCIC-IRB R708308) works with internationally educated nurses, physicians, allied health professionals, social workers, ECEs, PSWs, and home-support workers across all 11 provinces and territories. Our healthcare-track services include:

• Express Entry profile build and CRS optimization
• NOC mapping and reference letter audits
• Language test strategy (CELPIP, IELTS, PTE Core, TEF Canada, TCF Canada)
• Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) coordination — WES, ICAS, IQAS, ICES, MCC for physicians
• PNP healthcare stream applications across Ontario, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Atlantic provinces
• Atlantic Immigration Program and Rural Community Immigration Pilot endorsements
• eAPR document preparation and submission
• Pre-arrival and post-landing licensing support coordination

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VG Immigration Services Inc. · Dimple Verma, RCIC-IRB R708308 · 2 County Court Boulevard, Suite 400, Brampton, Ontario L6W 3W8 · Draw figures sourced from the official IRCC Rounds of Invitations bulletin (canada.ca) and CIC News reporting dated June 25, 2026. This article is general information and does not constitute legal advice. Individual eligibility depends on the full Express Entry rules and officer assessment.