Healthcare stream

Canada faces sustained labour shortages in healthcare and social services. To address this, IRCC runs category-based invitation rounds that specifically target candidates whose work experience is in healthcare and social services occupations — a group that includes roles such as registered nurses, nurse practitioners, family physicians, dentists, pharmacists, and other regulated health professions, as well as social workers and related occupations.

How it works

Healthcare is not a separate Express Entry program — it is a category used for category-based selection draws. To enter the Express Entry pool, a candidate must first meet the eligibility requirements of one of the three underlying programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST), or the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Once in the pool, candidates whose work experience is in a qualifying healthcare or social services NOC occupation may receive an Invitation to Apply through a healthcare category draw, even if their general-pool CRS score would not otherwise lead to an invitation. IRCC reviews and updates the list of eligible occupations for each category annually based on labour market data from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).

Eligibility basics

• You must first meet the eligibility requirements of at least one Express Entry program (FSW, FST, or CEC) to enter the pool.
• For category-based draw eligibility, you must have at least 1 year of work experience (or the equivalent in part-time hours) in Canada or abroad within the past 3 years in a single qualifying healthcare or social services NOC occupation listed on the IRCC category-based selection page.
• The specific occupations eligible for each category draw are set in the ministerial instructions for that round — the list can and does change from year to year.
• Your language test results, education credentials (if required for your program), and admissibility requirements all still apply through your underlying program.

In early 2026, IRCC also introduced a separate "Physicians with Canadian work experience" category for physicians who have already worked in Canada. Physicians without Canadian work experience, and the other healthcare and social-services occupations described here, remain part of the general Healthcare and Social Services category.