Updated July 2026. IRCC’s first Express Entry draw of December 2025 went out on December 8 — and it was a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) round, not an all-program draw. That distinction matters: PNP draws only invite candidates who already hold a provincial nomination, so the numbers below don’t reflect what a general CRS score would need in the pool at large.
Draw Details
- Date: December 8, 2025
- Program: Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
- Invitations issued: 1,123
- CRS cutoff: 729
- Tie-break rule: March 5, 2025 at 05:10:48 UTC
At 1,123 ITAs, this was one of the larger PNP-specific rounds of 2025, and it continued a pattern IRCC leaned on through the back half of the year: using provincial nominations — worth 600 additional CRS points — to fill Express Entry invitations with candidates who already have a demonstrated regional employment or settlement connection, rather than relying purely on federal program scores.
Who Was Eligible
Because this was a PNP-restricted draw, only candidates who met all three of the following qualified:
- An active Express Entry profile
- A base CRS score of at least 129 (before the provincial nomination bonus)
- A confirmed nomination from a participating province or territory
The 600-point nomination bonus is what pushed otherwise mid-range profiles into the invited range — a base CRS score in the 400s or low 500s, plus a nomination, comfortably clears a cutoff like 729.
What Happens Next for Invitees
Candidates who received an ITA in this round have 60 days from the invitation date to submit a complete permanent residence application, including police certificates, medical exam results, and proof of funds. PNP-linked applications typically move through IRCC processing in around 6 months, though individual timelines vary by case complexity and document completeness.
The Bigger Picture
This draw reinforced a trend that defined Express Entry through late 2025: provincial nominations, not federal program scores alone, increasingly decided who got invited. For candidates without a nomination, that meant watching CRS cutoffs in general draws stay comparatively high, while PNP-nominated candidates continued to clear the pool at scores that would otherwise be out of reach.
For the authoritative source on IRCC’s draw results, see IRCC’s official Express Entry rounds page.
Not sure how this affects your own eligibility? Get a personalized report on your CRS score and which Express Entry or PNP category actually fits your situation. Get My Personalized Report →
