On March 5, 2026, IRCC ran round #402 of Express Entry, a round in the “Senior managers with Canadian Work Experience, 2026-Version 1” category. It issued 250 invitations to apply (ITAs), and the lowest-ranked candidate invited held a CRS score of 429.
The numbers
| Date | March 5, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Round number | #402 |
| Round type | Senior managers with Canadian Work Experience, 2026-Version 1 |
| Invitations to apply (ITAs) | 250 |
| CRS cut-off | 429 |
| Change vs. previous round of the same type | +260 points |
| Days since the previous round of the same type | 14 days |
How it compares
The cut-off rose 260 points against round #397 (February 19, 2026), which closed at 169. The gap between the two was 14 days. Invitations went down by 141 (from 391).
Counting this one, 2 rounds in this category have been held in 2026, for 641 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. IRCC published this round under the category “Senior managers with Canadian Work Experience, 2026-Version 1”.
What it means for your profile
Getting an invitation in this round took a CRS score of 429 or above, in the pool and inside the Senior managers with Canadian Work Experience, 2026-Version 1 category on March 5, 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. We do not use these numbers to predict the next round. What a round closes at depends on the pool on that date and on the instructions in force, so this figure describes what happened and nothing more.
- 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.
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.