BlogIRCC revamps its Express Entry priority categories for 2026
On February 18, 2026, the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released its finalized list of skills and occupational categories that will receive priority invitations to apply under Canada’s Express Entry system in 2026. For most of 2025 IRCC’s list included only six categories but it has now been revamped to include the newly created category targeting foreign medical doctors with Canadian work experience, which we recently blogged about, as well as four new additions for researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience, candidates with experience in select transport occupations, and skilled military recruits. In this blog, we will review these major changes to the Express Entry system and let you know what to look out for in the coming months.


