New Express Entry Category for Doctors in Canada

Key Takeaways

• New Express Entry stream targets physicians with recent Canadian work experience.
• Eligible occupations are limited to specific NOC 2021 codes (31100, 31101, 31102).
• Requires at least 12 months of continuous work in Canada within the last three years.
• Doctors must qualify under existing Express Entry economic programs.
• Fee-for-service physicians may benefit from temporary public policy exemptions.

What Is the New Express Entry Category for Doctors?

In December 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a new Express Entry category dedicated to international doctors with at least one year of recent Canadian work experience in an eligible medical occupation.

On the main Express Entry category-based selection page, IRCC now lists “Physicians with Canadian work experience” as one of the current categories, alongside existing categories such as healthcare occupations, STEM occupations and trade occupations.

According to IRCC, to be eligible for an invitation in a category-based round you must:

• meet the minimum criteria for Express Entry, including eligibility for one of the three economic programs it manages, and
• meet all of the specific requirements for that category in the Minister’s instructions.

For doctors already in Canada, this means the new category is not a separate program but a targeted way of prioritizing invitations for physicians who are already contributing to the health care system here.

How Category-Based Selection Works (in Simple Terms)

Express Entry is an online system that manages permanent residence applications for three federal economic programs: the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

Since 2023, IRCC has been able to run category-based rounds in Express Entry. These rounds focus on candidates with specific attributes (such as work experience in certain occupations, including health care, or strong French-language ability) that match Canada’s labour market priorities.

For the new physicians category, IRCC will:

• identify all candidates in the Express Entry pool who meet the category’s physician requirements,
• rank them by Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, and
• invite top-ranking candidates to apply for permanent residence when a physicians category-based round is held.

The key takeaway: you must already be in the Express Entry pool and meet program eligibility before you can benefit from this new stream.

Eligibility: Physicians with Canadian Work Experience Category

Occupations Covered

The physicians category is restricted to three National Occupational Classification (NOC 2021) codes:

• 31100 – Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
• 31101 – Specialists in surgery
• 31102 – General practitioners and family physicians

If your primary work in Canada falls in one of these NOC codes, you are in the core target group for this new Express Entry category.

Minimum Canadian Work Experience

IRCC’s category-based selection page specifies that to qualify under the physicians with Canadian work experience category, you must have:

• at least 12 months of full-time, continuous work (or an equivalent amount of part-time work),
• within the last 3 years,
• in a single eligible physician occupation (31100, 31101 or 31102),
• and the work must be in Canada.

This is more demanding than some other categories (for example, many other occupation categories require only 6 months of work experience, which can be in Canada or abroad).

Express Entry Program Eligibility Still Required

In addition to the category criteria, you must also qualify under one of the economic programs that Express Entry manages — typically:

• Canadian Experience Class (CEC) – for doctors with eligible Canadian work experience in TEER 0 or 1 jobs.
• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) – for doctors whose combination of foreign and/or Canadian work experience, education and language scores meets the FSW grid and minimum thresholds.

Category-based selection does not waive the underlying program requirements or admissibility checks (medical, criminality, security).

Special Rules for Self-Employed and Fee-for-Service Physicians

Many physicians in Canada work under fee-for-service or independent contractor arrangements, and are therefore technically considered self-employed by immigration rules. Historically, this caused two major problems:

• their self-employed Canadian work experience did not count for the Canadian Experience Class, and
• their job offers did not always meet the “continuous, at least one year after visa issuance” requirement for arranged employment points under FSW.

To address this, IRCC introduced a temporary public policy in 2023 for physicians who provide publicly funded medical services in Canada. Under this policy, qualifying physicians can receive exemptions so that:

• self-employed fee-for-service work can be counted as Canadian work experience for CEC, and
• certain limitations on what counts as “arranged employment” do not prevent them from qualifying in FSW or PNP via Express Entry.

The IRCC Help Centre also instructs physicians with Canadian work experience that, if they are covered by this policy, they should not check the “Self-employed work” box under “Work experience in Canada” in their Express Entry profile so their experience is counted correctly.

In practice, this public policy works together with the new physicians category: it helps more doctors qualify for CEC or FSW and enter the Express Entry pool, and the category then prioritizes invitations for those with recent Canadian clinical experience.

Relationship to Other Healthcare & Provincial Programs

Doctors in Canada may also qualify under other immigration tools that interact with Express Entry:

• Healthcare and social services occupations category – another Express Entry category-based stream that covers a broad range of health and social occupations, including physicians, for candidates with at least six months of recent work experience (in Canada or abroad).
• Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) – many provinces have physician- or healthcare-focused nomination streams. In December 2025, IRCC announced 5,000 reserved federal admission spaces for provinces and territories to nominate licensed doctors with job offers, along with expedited 14-day work permit processing for nominated doctors.

Strategically, a doctor in Canada might:

• enter or remain in the Express Entry pool under CEC or FSW,
• benefit from the new physicians category-based draws once they begin, and
• simultaneously explore provincial nomination to further increase CRS and access reserved admission spaces.

Step-by-Step: How Doctors in Canada Can Prepare

Step 1 – Confirm Your Occupation & Licensing Category

Start by confirming that your primary Canadian role falls under one of the eligible NOC 2021 physician codes (31100, 31101 or 31102).

This is separate from your provincial medical licence, but both matter:

• NOC code defines how IRCC classifies your work in Express Entry.
• Licensing confirms you can lawfully practise and therefore accumulate eligible Canadian work experience.

Step 2 – Check Whether Your Work Experience Counts

Review your last three years of work in Canada and map it against Express Entry rules:

• Is your work full-time (typically at least 30 hours per week) or equivalent part-time?
• Is it continuous for at least 12 months in a single eligible physician NOC?
• Were you always authorized to work (proper work permit, no gaps)?
• Are you paid through publicly funded fee-for-service or on salary?

If you are a fee-for-service physician, review the temporary public policy and IRCC Help Centre instructions to see if your self-employed work can be counted as Canadian work experience for Express Entry purposes.

Step 3 – Determine Your Base Express Entry Program

Next, decide which Express Entry program you are most likely to qualify under:

• Canadian Experience Class – usually the best fit if you have at least one year of eligible Canadian work experience in TEER 0 or 1 within the last three years.
• Federal Skilled Worker Program – may be suitable if you have substantial foreign experience, high education and strong language scores that can meet the FSW points grid and minimum thresholds.

You can use IRCC’s online pre-eligibility tools as a first screening, but a detailed assessment is often helpful for borderline cases.

Step 4 – Gather Core Documents

To create a competitive Express Entry profile, most physicians in Canada will need:

• approved language test results (English and/or French)
• an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for foreign degrees, unless all relevant education is Canadian
• detailed work reference letters and contracts confirming duties and NOC, including fee-for-service or hospital arrangements
• proof of licence and registration with the provincial/territorial medical regulator
• proof of funds (for FSW, unless exempt) and other standard documents (passports, police certificates, etc.).

Step 5 – Create or Update Your Express Entry Profile

Once you meet the program requirements and have key documentation, you should:

• create an Express Entry profile (or update an existing one),
• make sure your work history is accurately coded under the correct physician NOC, and
• if you are fee-for-service and covered by the public policy, follow IRCC’s instruction not to mark that Canadian work as “self-employed” in the profile so that it can be counted.

Once your profile is submitted and shows as eligible, you will receive a CRS score and enter the Express Entry pool.

Step 6 – Track Category-Based Rounds and PNP Options

IRCC publishes details of each Express Entry round of invitations, including whether it was a general, program-specific or category-based round, and the CRS cut-off.

For doctors in Canada, it is wise to:

• watch for the launch of physicians category rounds (planned to start in early 2026 according to the December 2025 announcement),
• consider provincial nomination if your province offers a physician stream, especially given the new reserved federal spaces for nominated doctors,
• update your Express Entry profile immediately when you gain new experience, language scores or credentials that could raise your CRS score.

Practical Scenarios for Doctors in Canada

Scenario 1 – Fee-for-Service Family Physician in Nova Scotia

A foreign-trained general practitioner has been working in Nova Scotia for 18 months under a fee-for-service model with the provincial health authority. Before 2023, their self-employed status would have made qualifying under the Canadian Experience Class difficult.

Under the temporary public policy, their publicly funded fee-for-service work can now be counted as Canadian work experience for Express Entry, and the new physicians category can prioritize them for an invitation once they are in the pool, provided they meet all program criteria and have competitive CRS.

Scenario 2 – Specialist Surgeon in Ontario on a Locum Contract

A specialist in surgery (NOC 31101) has been working in Ontario for 14 months on a series of locum contracts with a hospital, paid from public funds. They have solid English test scores and meet the FSW requirements.

By accurately documenting their Canadian experience and using the public policy exemption if applicable, they may qualify for Express Entry and benefit from physicians category draws that specifically target their NOC, while also exploring provincial nomination for additional CRS points.

Scenario 3 – Resident Physician with Mixed Training and Practice

A medical resident has several years of foreign practice and two years of residency training in Canada. Some of the residency period may not count as skilled work if it is considered primarily training, but subsequent attending-level fee-for-service or salaried roles might qualify as NOC 31100–31102 work.

They might first qualify under FSW using foreign experience, then later improve their CRS and eligibility for the physicians category once they accumulate 12 months of qualifying Canadian experience. Because training situations are complex, this is an area where individualized professional advice may be appropriate.

FAQ: New Express Entry Stream for Doctors in Canada

Conclusion: Strategic Next Steps for Doctors in Canada

The new Express Entry category for physicians with Canadian work experience is a significant opportunity for doctors who are already serving patients in Canada on temporary status. Combined with the public policy that recognizes fee-for-service work and with expanded provincial tools, it creates a clearer path to permanent residence than in the past.

In practical terms, doctors should:

• confirm their NOC classification and that their work falls under an eligible physician code,
• ensure their Canadian experience is properly documented and counted, especially if they are self-employed or fee-for-service,
• qualify under CEC or FSW and enter the Express Entry pool as soon as realistic,
• monitor category-based rounds and provincial nomination opportunities, and
• seek personalized professional advice for complex or borderline situations.

While no result is guaranteed, understanding how the new physicians category works — and preparing proactively — can significantly improve your chances of successfully immigrating under Express Entry as a doctor in Canada.

Sources: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), official government publications