Welcome to the Guberman // Appleby Immigration Update. We hope you find the information provided relevant to your immigration needs. Our objective is to highlight recent updates in immigration that are of interest to our readers. If you have questions about how these changes affect your eligibility, we invite you to contact our Canadian immigration lawyers for tailored guidance.
Today’s topic:
October 6, 2025 – 4,500 Invitations to apply issued under the Express Entry system for the French language proficiency category
On October 6, 2025, the Federal Government issued 4,500 invitations to apply to individuals in the Express Entry pool who had a score of at least 432 and qualified for the French language proficiency category. The number of individuals invited reflects Canada’s continued priority to target French skills in its immigration programs. This is further evidenced by the fact that the Government only issued 3000 invitations to apply under the past three Canadian Experience class draws cumulatively.
Express Entry System
The Express Entry system is a process for managing the admission of applicants to three permanent resident (PR) programs. If an applicant qualifies for either the Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker, or Federal Skilled Trades programs then they can submit a profile to IRCC and enter the Express Entry pool. Profiles in the pool are given a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) point score which is based on a variety of factors including level of education, foreign and Canadian work experience, age, language ability, and more. The government of Canada will then intermittently issue Invitations to Apply to applicants over a certain point threshold which allows them to apply for permanent residence.
New Targeted Categories
A more recent change in Express Entry is the categories of applicants that the government is targeting. The targeted categories refer to certain skills and occupations that the government is prioritizing through specific draws for individuals with that skill or occupation. The benefit of falling into a category is that category-based draws typically have considerably lower point thresholds. The targeted categories include:
- French-language proficiency
- Healthcare and social services occupations
- Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations
- Trade occupations
- Agriculture and agri-food occupations
- Education occupations
To qualify for the French Language Proficiency category a potential applicant must take an authorized language test and receive a NCLC (which is the government’s French language benchmark system) score of 7 or above on each skill.
French Language Skills a Government Priority
While the government announced 6 categories it was targeting, recently the government has clearly made the French language proficiency category its top priority. This is evidenced by the fact that the government has issued 30,000 invitations to draw under this category in 2025 alone. For comparison, the category that has received the second most invitations to apply in 2025 is the healthcare and social services occupations category where the government has issued 7,500 invitations to apply in 2025.
Further evidencing the government’s targeting of French language skills is the low scores that are required to be invited under these draws. For example, the October 6 French language proficiency draw required 102 less points to be invited than the October 1 Canadian Experience Class draw. Given the government’s recent removal of points awarded for applicants with a valid Canadian job offer it can be extremely difficult for many applicants, particularly those older than thirty, to achieve the 500+ point totals required to be invited under the Canadian Experience Class draws. Therefore, individuals who are planning or wish to obtain permanent residence in Canada should consider learning or improving their French and taking an authorised language test to become eligible for the French language proficiency category. Strong French language skills will both provide substantial CRS points and lower the amount of points required for an applicant to be invited.
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We welcome you to contact us directly to discuss the above. Please contact one of our Toronto immigration lawyers, by reaching out to our general line 416 548 7100 or via email info@gaimmlaw.com. Our immigration lawyers are always available to discuss any of your specific Canadian or US immigration queries either virtually or in person. We look forward to hearing from you.
