How many candidates ranked above the cut-off in draw #401?

On March 1, 2026, the Express Entry pool held 232,534 candidates. 151,837 of them sat in score bands entirely at or above the 397 cut-off. A further 53,727 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 397 is not knowable from the data.

French-language proficiency · 4 March 2026

Express Entry draw #401

Q: What was the CRS cut-off for Express Entry draw #401?

The cut-off for round #401, held on 4 March 2026, was 397. It was a French-language proficiency round and it issued 5,500 invitations to apply, 3 points below the previous French-language proficiency round 4 weeks earlier. Candidates who tied at 397 were ranked by the date they entered the pool, with the cut-off timestamp set at October 10, 2025 at 18:18:20 UTC.

On 4 March 2026, IRCC issued 5,500 invitations to apply in the French-language proficiency category. The lowest-ranked candidate invited scored 397 on the Comprehensive Ranking System, 3 points below the previous French-language proficiency round 4 weeks earlier. That was the second lowest of the 10 French-language proficiency rounds held in the year to that date, which together issued 55,500 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 #401 is reproduced from IRCC's official rounds feed and has not been edited.

Minimum CRS score

397

French-language proficiency

Previous French-language proficiency round: #394 on 06 Feb 2026 at 400 (-3)

5,500
Invitations issued: #401
Round: 04 Mar 2026
Date: October 10, 2025
Tie-break

Programs eligible

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

Candidates tied on 397 were separated by how long they had been in the pool. The tie-break was set at October 10, 2025 at 18:18:20 UTC — a profile submitted before that moment was invited, one submitted after it was not.

The pool that week

Where 397 fell through the pool

IRCC published the Express Entry pool’s shape alongside this round. On March 1, 2026 it held 232,534 candidates, and the cut-off ran through them here.

Express Entry candidates by CRS range on March 1, 2026, against the 397 cut-off of round #401
CRS range	Candidates	Share of pool	Against the cut-off
601–1200	258	0.1%	All invited
501–600	14,031	6.0%	All invited
451–500	71,680	30.8%	All invited
401–450	65,868	28.3%	All invited
Cut-off — CRS 397
351–400	53,727	23.1%	Split by the cut-off
301–350	18,694	8.0%	Below the cut-off
0–300	8,276	3.6%	Below the cut-off

151,837 candidates sat in bands entirely at or above 397 — 65.3% of the pool.

A further 53,727 sat in the 351–400 band, which 397 falls inside. IRCC does not publish scores more finely than this, so how many of them cleared 397 is not knowable from the data.

In context

French-language proficiency rounds in the year to 04 Mar 2026

A cut-off means little on its own. Against its own category’s previous twelve months, this one was the second lowest of 10.

397

379
Lowest cut-off: 481
Highest cut-off: 10
Rounds: 55,500
Invitations

Reading this today

This is a record, not the current bar

Round #401 was held on 4 March 2026. IRCC has run 37 rounds since, and the current cut-off for this category is not 397.

The latest draw and the current pool All 438 rounds

Free CRS assessment

Would this round have taken you?

The table above says where 397 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 #401, 4 March 2026; pool as published on March 1, 2026.

Three fields · about 30 seconds