Express Entry round #429 took place on July 22, 2026. IRCC invited 5,000 candidates in the French-language proficiency category, with the cut-off landing at 399 CRS points.
The numbers
| Date | July 22, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Round number | #429 |
| Round type | French-language proficiency |
| IRCC label | French-Language proficiency 2026-Version 2 |
| Invitations to apply (ITAs) | 5,000 |
| CRS cut-off | 399 |
| Change vs. previous round of the same type | −21 points |
| Days since the previous round of the same type | 13 days |
How it compares
Against round #425 (July 9, 2026) and its cut-off of 420, the minimum score dropped by 21 points. The number of invitations was identical, at 5,000. That is 13 days after the previous one, where the recent average across 10 rounds in this category is 26 days.
It sits inside the usual range for these rounds: the last 10 rounds in this category span 393 to 420 points, averaging 404. In volume terms it lands mid-range: those rounds average 5,250 invitations, between 4,000 and 8,500. So far in 2026 there have been 8 rounds in this category, adding up to 40,500 invitations including this round. Widening out to the last 10 Express Entry rounds of every kind, cut-offs ran from 223 to 744.
What this round selects
In a category-based round IRCC narrows the pool first and ranks afterwards: only profiles that meet the category’s requirements — and qualify for a federal program — are in the running. 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 July 22, 2026 with a CRS score of 399 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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- 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.