Express Entry round #398 took place on February 20, 2026. IRCC invited 4,000 candidates in the healthcare and social services category, with the cut-off landing at 467 CRS points.
The numbers
| Date | February 20, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Round number | #398 |
| Round type | Healthcare and social services |
| IRCC label | Healthcare and Social Services Occupations, 2026-Version 3 |
| Invitations to apply (ITAs) | 4,000 |
| CRS cut-off | 467 |
| Change vs. previous round of the same type | −9 points |
| Days since the previous round of the same type | 71 days |
How it compares
That is 9 points below round #385 (December 11, 2025), whose cut-off stood at 476. Invitations went up by 3,000 (from 1,000). The gap was 71 days; the last 8 rounds in this category have averaged 42 days apart.
It sits inside the usual range for these rounds: the last 8 rounds in this category span 462 to 510 points, averaging 480. By volume it is the biggest of the set, which runs from 500 to 4,000 invitations. Widening out to the last 10 Express Entry rounds of every kind, cut-offs ran from 169 to 789.
What it means for your profile
Getting an invitation in this round took a CRS score of 467 or above, in the pool and inside the healthcare and social services category on February 20, 2026. Scoring under the cut-off changes nothing about a profile — it remains in the pool for twelve months and enters every round it is eligible for. This page does not forecast where the next cut-off will land. Each round depends on how many profiles are in the pool at the time and on the instructions in force that day, so a past cut-off is a record, not a target.
- Immigration evaluation — we work out your CRS score, check which programs and categories you are eligible for, and tell you what is missing. If your profile does not qualify, we say so before you pay.
- All Express Entry draws — the live history with charts and filters, updated as each new round is published.
What this round selects
Category-based rounds do not draw from the whole pool. IRCC picks one category and invites only the profiles inside it that meet the category’s own requirements, on top of qualifying for a federal program. This category covers occupations in health care and social services.
Source: the rounds of invitations IRCC publishes, read automatically through our data service. GerCanada is a private consultancy and is not part of the Government of Canada.