Round #401 — March 4, 2026. IRCC issued 5,500 ITAs in the French-language proficiency category; the CRS cut-off for that round was 397.
The numbers
| Date | March 4, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Round number | #401 |
| Round type | French-language proficiency |
| IRCC label | French-Language proficiency 2026-Version 2 |
| Invitations to apply (ITAs) | 5,500 |
| CRS cut-off | 397 |
| Change vs. previous round of the same type | −3 points |
| Days since the previous round of the same type | 26 days |
How it compares
That is 3 points below round #394 (February 6, 2026), whose cut-off stood at 400. 26 days separate the two rounds, against an average of 30 days across the last 8 rounds in this category. Invitations went down by 3,000 (from 8,500).
No round among the last 8 rounds in this category closed lower; those rounds span 397 to 481 points. The volume is mid-table for the set, which averages 5,438 invitations per round (2,500 to 8,500). Counting this one, 2 rounds in this category have been held in 2026, for 14,000 invitations in total. Across the last 10 rounds of any kind, the cut-offs sat between 169 and 789.
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 is not occupation-based: it selects profiles that show the minimum French level IRCC requires across all four abilities of the official test.
What it means for your profile
If your profile was in the pool and inside the French-language proficiency category on March 4, 2026 with a CRS score of 397 or more, this round would have reached you. A score below the cut-off does not remove your profile: an Express Entry profile stays in the pool for twelve months and is automatically considered in every round it qualifies 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.
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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.