Permanent residency through Express Entry in 2025: who was invited, who was turned down, and who was merely beckoned.
2025 turned out to be… a pretty interesting year for the Express Entry system. On the one hand, there were record-breaking selections for certain categories. On the other, there were painful quota cuts, due to which many provinces simply couldn't "pull" their candidates to the federal level. We examine who actually had a chance at permanent residency, what scores were required, and why Francophones once again "beat" everyone.
1. Canadian Experience Class – 35,850 invited. The feds finally remembered that real people with experience live and work in Canada, and opened the gates to the Canadian Experience Class. Frankly, the term "opened" isn't quite right; I'd say they opened a crack through which only a few chosen ones can slip through. The qualifying scores ranged from 515 to 547.
This means that only those with the following could get in:
- Age under 34
- Excellent English
- Higher education
- Canadian experience
- And also foreign experience for adaptive points. Young Canadian graduates without foreign experience? Alas. Even with perfect English and three years of work experience, they simply didn't reach these "astronomical" qualifying scores.
2. Provincial nominations through Express Entry – only 10,898 people
This is the smallest number in recent years. The reason? Simple: the federal government sharply reduced provincial quotas for nominations. As a result, even strong candidates sat in pools for months, and PNP selections were so small that some provinces only used a quarter of their potential.
3. Francophones are the absolute champions of 2025. If there were an "Immigration Elite of the Year" medal, it would go to the Francophones. Total invitations: 48,000 people! Scores: 379 to 481. This isn't just "below average", it's almost half below average. The feds are quite openly saying, "Do you speak French? Come on in."
4. Healthcare workers – 14,500 invitations. The system has long been short of medical personnel, and this has finally been recognized by sampling. Scores range from 462 to 510. This is still high, but objectively lower than the CEC.
5. Teachers – 3,500 invitations
Passing scores: 462–479. This is the only category where the phrase "we're a bit short" was taken quite literally.
6. Tradespeople – 1,250 people. Honestly, it sounds like a line from a stand-up comedy: "We need ordinary workers, so we invite only those with fantastic scores, which only YOUNG geniuses with a PhD and experience as a simple artisan can achieve." Score—505… No comment. You can leave yours.
2025 Express Entry RESULTS
Francophones are becoming the top priority, and this won't change in 2026. The CEC is only for extremely strong profiles. Trade and PNP have been caught in the crossfire of the situation and federal cuts, resulting in a shortage of invitations and record-high provincial pass scores.
Oleksandra Melnykova, Canadian Immigration and Refugee Consultant.
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