How many candidates ranked above the cut-off in draw #388?

On December 14, 2025, the Express Entry pool held 237,302 candidates. 157,830 of them sat in score bands entirely at or above the 399 cut-off. A further 52,574 sat in the 351-400 band, which the cut-off runs through — IRCC does not publish scores at a finer resolution than these bands, so how many of that group cleared 399 is not knowable from the data.

French-language proficiency · 17 December 2025

Express Entry draw #388

Q: What was the CRS cut-off for Express Entry draw #388?

The cut-off for round #388, held on 17 December 2025, was 399. It was a French-language proficiency round and it issued 6,000 invitations to apply, 9 points below the previous French-language proficiency round 3 weeks earlier. Candidates who tied at 399 were ranked by the date they entered the pool, with the cut-off timestamp set at August 24, 2025 at 23:43:05 UTC.

On 17 December 2025, IRCC issued 6,000 invitations to apply in the French-language proficiency category. The lowest-ranked candidate invited scored 399 on the Comprehensive Ranking System, 9 points below the previous French-language proficiency round 3 weeks earlier. That was the second lowest of the 9 French-language proficiency rounds held in the year to that date, which together issued 48,000 invitations at cut-offs between 379 and 481.

Read and checked by Jay Sharma, Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant R710507, licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. Round #388 is reproduced from IRCC's official rounds feed and has not been edited.

Minimum CRS score

399

French-language proficiency

Previous French-language proficiency round: #382 on 28 Nov 2025 at 408 (-9)

6,000
Invitations issued: #388
Round: 17 Dec 2025
Date: August 24, 2025
Tie-break

Programs eligible

Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades Program

Candidates tied on 399 were separated by how long they had been in the pool. The tie-break was set at August 24, 2025 at 23:43:05 UTC — a profile submitted before that moment was invited, one submitted after it was not.

The pool that week

Where 399 fell through the pool

IRCC published the Express Entry pool’s shape alongside this round. On December 14, 2025 it held 237,302 candidates, and the cut-off ran through them here.

Express Entry candidates by CRS range on December 14, 2025, against the 399 cut-off of round #388
CRS range	Candidates	Share of pool	Against the cut-off
601–1200	390	0.2%	All invited
501–600	21,792	9.2%	All invited
451–500	68,700	29.0%	All invited
401–450	66,948	28.2%	All invited
Cut-off — CRS 399
351–400	52,574	22.2%	Split by the cut-off
301–350	18,829	7.9%	Below the cut-off
0–300	8,069	3.4%	Below the cut-off

157,830 candidates sat in bands entirely at or above 399 — 66.5% of the pool.

A further 52,574 sat in the 351–400 band, which 399 falls inside. IRCC does not publish scores more finely than this, so how many of them cleared 399 is not knowable from the data.

In context

French-language proficiency rounds in the year to 17 Dec 2025

A cut-off means little on its own. Against its own category’s previous twelve months, this one was the second lowest of 9.

399

379
Lowest cut-off: 481
Highest cut-off: 9
Rounds: 48,000
Invitations

Reading this today

This is a record, not the current bar

Round #388 was held on 17 December 2025. IRCC has run 50 rounds since, and the current cut-off for this category is not 399.

The latest draw and the current pool All 438 rounds

Free CRS assessment

Would this round have taken you?

The table above says where 399 fell through the pool. Whether your own score reaches a category, and what would move it — a language retake, a provincial nomination, a spouse’s credentials — is a different question, and it is the one worth answering.

Data: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Round #388, 17 December 2025; pool as published on December 14, 2025.

Three fields · about 30 seconds