French-Speaking Express Entry Draw on April 29, 2026: CRS Returns to 400 as IRCC Issues 4,000 Invitations

Canada held a new French-speaking Express Entry draw on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, issuing 4,000 invitations to apply with a minimum CRS score of 400. The tie-breaking cut-off was April 07, 2026 at 20:13:59 UTC, meaning the cut-off profile was 22 days old inside the pool.

This is the second French-speaking draw in April 2026 and the fifth French-speaking draw of the year. It also confirms that French-language category-based selection remains one of the most important Express Entry channels in 2026, with 26,000 invitations issued so far, representing 36.3% of all Express Entry invitations this year.

Legal Analysis: French-Speaking Candidates Remain in a Strong Position

The April 29 draw is important because the CRS dropped from 419 on April 15 to 400 on April 29, a decline of 19 points while the draw size stayed the same at 4,000 invitations. From a legal and strategic perspective, that is a positive signal for francophone candidates. It suggests that IRCC is not only maintaining French-speaking selection, but also clearing candidates around the 400-point level.

Among the most recent eight French-speaking draws, the average CRS is 404, with the highest at 419 and the lowest at 393. Today’s CRS of 400 is therefore 4 points below the recent average, 19 points below the recent high, and only 7 points above the recent low. This places the draw firmly within the current competitive range for French-speaking Express Entry candidates.

The draw size of 4,000 is not large compared with the February 6 French-speaking draw of 8,500 invitations, but it is consistent. The last three French-speaking rounds all issued 4,000 invitations, showing that IRCC may be using a more controlled and repeatable invitation pattern after the very large February round.

The most legally relevant detail is the 22-day profile age at the CRS cut-off. Compared with the French-speaking pool’s average profile age of about 7 months, this is a relatively young tie-breaker. A shorter tie-breaker usually means that most candidates at the same CRS level were reached, and only newer profiles at the cut-off score were left behind. That is generally more favourable than a tie-breaker several months old, which would suggest a deeper backlog at the same CRS score.

In practical terms, this draw supports the view that CRS 400 remains highly competitive for French-speaking candidates, provided they meet all category and program requirements. However, candidates below 400 should not assume an automatic drop, because draw frequency, category priorities, and the size of future rounds can quickly change the cut-off.

Express Entry 2026 Progress: French-Speaking Draws Are Carrying a Major Share

Up to April 29, 2026, Express Entry has issued 71,627 invitations against an annual planning figure of 123,230, reaching 58.1% of the annual level with 246 days left in the year. This is a significant pace. While invitations are not the same as final admissions, the number shows that IRCC has already moved strongly through its Express Entry allocation.

French-speaking draws account for 26,000 invitations, second only to Canadian Experience Class draws, which have issued 34,250 invitations. Together, these two streams dominate Express Entry activity in 2026.

This confirms a clear policy direction: Canada is continuing to use Express Entry to select candidates who can support labour market needs and francophone immigration outside Quebec. For French-speaking applicants, the current year remains unusually favourable compared with many other Express Entry pathways, especially Provincial Nominee Program draws where CRS cut-offs often remain much higher because of the 600-point nomination bonus.

Trend Outlook: CRS May Stay Around the High 390s to Low 400s, But Volatility Remains

The French-speaking trend is currently stable in draw size but flexible in CRS. The latest three French-speaking draws issued 4,000 invitations each, while CRS moved from 393 to 419 and then back to 400. That pattern shows that the category is active, but not perfectly predictable.

The most likely near-term range, based on the recent eight-draw pattern, is the high 390s to low 400s if IRCC continues regular French-speaking rounds of similar size. A return above 410 is still possible if there is a longer gap between rounds or if the number of candidates with strong French results increases. A drop below 393 would likely require either larger draw sizes, more frequent category rounds, or a thinner pool of eligible French-speaking candidates.

The 22-day tie-breaker is encouraging. It indicates that the CRS 400 line was not anchored to a very old pool of candidates. In legal strategy terms, this is a sign that candidates near 390 to 400 should treat French-language improvement, document readiness, and profile accuracy as urgent priorities, not long-term planning items.

How to Get CRS 400: 3 Sample Express Entry Profiles With Canadian Study, French Points, Skilled Experience and Spouse Factors

To get exactly CRS 400 in Express Entry, an applicant may combine age, education, language results, Canadian or foreign skilled work experience, transferability points and additional points such as French-language ability, Canadian education, a sibling in Canada or a provincial nomination. A profile with the same CRS score can still rank differently in the pool depending on when the Express Entry profile was created, because older profiles have priority when candidates are tied at the same CRS. These three sample profiles show realistic ways applicants can land at CRS 400, including an inland PGWP graduate, an overseas skilled worker and a married applicant working in Canada on an LMIA-supported work permit.

Profile 1: Inland applicant, Youssef El Amrani, Moroccan bilingual marketing coordinator with 2 years of Canadian experience after Canadian college, CRS 400

Youssef El Amrani is a 39-year-old applicant from Morocco who first came to Canada as an international student. After completing a two-year Business Marketing diploma at George Brown College in Toronto, he became eligible for a post-graduation work permit and moved into a full-time skilled role as a bilingual digital marketing coordinator for a Canadian e-commerce company. His Canadian study gives him a realistic pathway into the labour market, and his two years of Canadian skilled work experience were gained while working legally on his PGWP.

His language profile is strong in French, especially in listening and reading, but his writing result keeps him slightly below the strongest possible language score. He took TEF Canada and scored speaking 532, giving him 31 points, listening 618, giving him 34 points, reading 620, giving him 34 points, and writing 455, giving him 17 points. His Canadian education also supports his profile because he receives 15 additional points for completing a one or two-year Canadian credential, and 25 additional points for French-language ability. His education and work history also create transferability points, including 13 points for education with language proficiency and 25 points for education with Canadian work experience.

Altogether, Youssef’s CRS 400 comes from age 55, education 98, language 116, Canadian work experience 53, transferability 38, and additional points 40. His profile is a classic inland PGWP case: Canadian study, Canadian skilled work experience, French ability and a balanced CRS score that reaches exactly 400.

Profile 2: Overseas applicant, Nadia Ben Salah, Tunisian senior financial analyst with 3 years of foreign skilled experience, CRS 400

Nadia Ben Salah is a 34-year-old applicant from Tunisia who has never studied, worked or lived in Canada. She built her career overseas after completing a one-year post-graduate diploma in financial analytics following earlier business studies in Tunisia. She works as a senior financial analyst for a regional consulting firm in Tunis, where she prepares financial models, budget forecasts and investment reports for corporate clients. Her three years of foreign skilled work experience make her competitive through transferability, especially because her language results are strong.

Nadia took TCF Canada and achieved speaking 14, giving her 31 points, listening 530, giving her 31 points, reading 560, giving her 34 points, and writing 14, giving her 31 points. Her language results are the main engine of her CRS score because she does not have Canadian work experience, Canadian education or a Canadian job offer. Her education combines with language proficiency for 25 transferability points, and her foreign skilled work experience combines with language proficiency for 50 transferability points. She also receives 25 additional points for French-language ability.

Altogether, Nadia’s CRS 400 comes from age 83, education 90, language 127, transferability 75, and additional points 25. Her case shows how an outland applicant with no Canadian history can still reach CRS 400 through age, strong language results, skilled foreign experience and French-language additional points.

Profile 3: Couple applicant, Armand Dupont and Lila Martin, French mechanical project supervisor on LMIA-supported work permit with spouse factors and sibling in Canada, CRS 400

Armand Dupont is a 41-year-old applicant from France working in Canada as a mechanical project supervisor for an industrial equipment company in Ontario. He originally completed a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in France and later came to Canada on an employer-supported LMIA work permit. By the time he enters the Express Entry pool, he has accumulated two years of Canadian skilled work experience in a high-skilled supervisory position, coordinating technicians, planning maintenance schedules and managing safety documentation for industrial clients.

Armand took TEF Canada and scored speaking 610, giving him 32 points, listening 610, giving him 32 points, reading 612, giving him 32 points, and writing 485, giving him 22 points. He also receives 25 additional points for French-language ability. His older sister lives in Canada as a permanent resident, giving him another 15 additional points for a sibling in Canada. His education and Canadian work history give him transferability points, including 13 points for education with language proficiency and 25 points for education with Canadian work experience.

His spouse, Lila Martin, is included in the application. Lila completed high school, which gives Armand’s profile 2 spouse education points. She has one year of Canadian work experience, adding 5 spouse points. She also took TEF Canada and scored speaking 410, listening 388, reading 402, and writing 365, adding 1 point for each skill, for 4 spouse language points. Altogether, Armand’s CRS 400 comes from age 35, education 112, language 118, Canadian work experience 46, transferability 38, additional points 40, and spouse factors 11.

Score Improvement Strategy for French-Speaking Express Entry Candidates

Education: move closer to the maximum education score

For Youssef, education is currently 98, while the maximum shown is 150, meaning there is room to improve by as much as 52 points if he completes a higher credential and has it properly assessed or recognized. Nadia has 90 education points, so she could potentially improve by up to 60 points by completing a higher credential such as a bachelor’s, master’s or professional degree. Armand has 112 education points, and because his spouse-accompanied maximum shown is 140, he has a possible education gap of 28 points.

Language: focus on the lower-scoring abilities first

Youssef’s biggest language opportunity is writing. His writing gives 17 points, while the maximum shown is 34, so improving that single skill could add up to 17 points. His speaking gives 31 points, and the maximum is 34, so speaking could add another 3 points. Nadia already has strong language results, but her speaking and listening are each 31 out of a possible 34, and writing is also 31 out of 34, so she could gain up to 9 more points across those three skills. Armand’s writing gives 22 points, while his maximum is 32, so writing alone could add up to 10 points.

Transferability: combine stronger education, language and work experience

Youssef currently has 38 transferability points, while the maximum is 100, leaving as much as 62 points available. Nadia is stronger in this area with 75 transferability points, but she could still gain up to 25 points by improving the combination of education, language and qualifying experience. Armand also has 38 transferability points, leaving up to 62 points available, especially if he strengthens the education and language combinations that interact with his Canadian skilled work experience.

Canadian experience: inland workers can gain points over time

Youssef has 53 Canadian experience points for two years, while the maximum shown is 80, leaving up to 27 points available if he continues gaining qualifying Canadian skilled work experience. Armand has 46 Canadian experience points, while the spouse-accompanied maximum shown is 70, leaving up to 24 points available. Nadia has no Canadian work experience, so this is a major difference between her overseas profile and the inland examples.

Additional points and provincial nomination

The largest improvement for all three candidates is a provincial nomination, which can add 600 points. At CRS 400, a nomination would change the profile completely and place the candidate in a much stronger invitation position. For candidates like Youssef and Armand, Canadian work experience, employer support, French ability and Canadian connections may help them explore province-specific pathways. For Nadia, French ability and skilled foreign experience may make targeted provincial streams worth reviewing carefully.

The April 29, 2026 French-speaking draw is a favourable result for francophone Express Entry candidates. A 4,000-invitation draw, a CRS cut-off of 400, and a 22-day tie-breaker together show that French-speaking candidates remain one of the strongest groups in the current Express Entry system. The main caution is that category-based draws are policy-driven. A strong score today does not guarantee selection later if IRCC changes draw frequency, reduces category size, or shifts invitations toward other streams. The best legal strategy is to keep the profile accurate, improve language results where possible, prepare documents early, and assess whether a provincial nomination or Canadian work pathway can provide a stronger backup plan.

Professional review with a licensed immigration consultant can help identify missing CRS points, prevent misrepresentation risk, and determine whether a French-speaking Express Entry profile should also be supported by CEC, PNP, work permit, or provincial francophone options.