Who Was Eligible For Express Entry Permanent Residency in 2025?

These insights tell us a lot about the past – they share key information about what happened in 2025, including whether the ‘in-Canada’ focus was abandoned, as many of us thought. But they can also help us understand what may be coming in Express Entry in 2026. Keep reading to find out who was admitted to Canada in 2025 and what that means for you today.  

(Did you know: being ‘admitted’ to Canada means becoming a permanent resident in Canada. So, the number of admissions means how many people became permanent residents in Canada.) 

Key takeaways  

• CEC and PNP had the highest number of admissions  
• Professional occupations in natural and applied sciences had the most admissions of any specified occupation  
• Ontario was the intended destination for more than half of those admitted  
• There were more women admitted through Express Entry than in previous years  
• Canada admitted 44,000 Indian citizens through Express Entry programs  

Which Express Entry Program had the most admissions?  

Candidates in the Canadian Experience Class saw the most admissions in 2025, at 49,475, followed by Provincial Nominee Program candidates  at 35,315.   

CEC admissions in 2025 show a slight increase over 2024 (48,815).   

PNP admissions have been declining steadily since 2023, when admissions peaked at 46,725.  

There were 30,030 Federal Skilled Worker Program candidates admitted in 2025. These would be admissions through category-based selection since IRCC has unofficially stopped holding FSWP draws, or “all program” draws, since 2023. For both 2024 and 2025, just 35 Federal Skilled Trades Program candidates were admitted.  

The fact that Canadian Experience Class candidates made up the highest number of Express Entry admissions might be surprising. Last year felt really hard for CEC candidates, with long gaps between draws and very high CRS scores across most rounds. However, we did see the most admissions through CEC – similar to previous years.   

The recently released data shows that IRCC may have fallen short of its planned 2025 target of 82,980 ‘in-Canada’ admissions. The Immigration Levels Plan for 2025 suggested that the in Canada target would ‘primarily’ be met through the Canadian Experience Class. However, in reality, there were just under 50k Canadian Experience Class admissions in 2025, which fell short of what many of us expected.   

This could be explained by the 188,000 temporary residents who transitioned to permanent residents last year. These applicants had alternate pathways to PR, which would count toward the “in Canada focus” target.  

What Occupation had the Most Admissions in 2025?  

IRCC’s data on admissions by intended occupation shows that, by specific occupation, the highest number of admissions (13,085) in 2025 came from those who had professional occupations in natural and applied sciences. This might be surprising given the lack of STEM draws in 2025. While IRCC hasn’t officially commented on why it didn’t run any STEM draws in 2025, we wonder whether the high representation of STEM workers in overall admissions might have contributed to the lack of category-based draws.     

The largest admission group by occupation was “other occupations,” with 46,405 admissions.  

Interestingly, despite ongoing concerns about a labour shortage in healthcare occupations, only 1,185 admissions in 2025 went to candidates in a professional nursing occupation, and just 4,045 were in other professional occupations in health. The 2025 numbers are close to admissions for 2024 but do mark a big shift from 2023 (445 and 1735), likely due to the introduction of category-based selection draws in 2023.   

The data showed that these trends remained consistent at the provincial and territorial level. Occupations in natural and applied sciences were highly represented across all provinces and territories compared to other occupations.   

Express Entry Admissions by Province  

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, saw the highest Express Entry admissions at 69,460.  Almost half of these admissions were Indian citizens.  

British Columbia was the second-most-popular destination for Express Entry admissions, with 19,875, just under a third of Ontario’s total admissions. Alberta saw 12,115. No other province or territory admitted more than 4,000 permanent residents through Express Entry.   

Only candidates admitted through the PNP must move to their province of intent (at least to start). CEC or FSWP candidates can move to any province. So, these numbers may not be 100% accurate. 

Express Entry Admissions by Age   

Permanent residents between 30-44 years of age made up the biggest cohort of admissions through Express Entry in 2025 (and each year from 2022-2024, too). In 2021, there was a huge influx of PR admissions through Express Entry aged 15-29 years (which may be a result of the huge Express Entry draw that invited everyone in the pool to apply in 2021), Prior to that, the trend of 30-44 year-olds making up the largest cohort of admissions was true from 2015-2020 too. With 15-29 year-olds being the second largest cohort across all those years.   

This may be a little surprising, given that Express Entry tends to prioritize younger workers. You get the most points in Express Entry between the ages 20-29, and progressively fewer points from 30 years of age and above. However, being older than 30 does come with other advantages in Express Entry – including the opportunities to gain skilled work experience inside and outside Canada, and to complete advanced degrees.   

Express Entry Admissions by Gender  

In 2025, the Express Entry gender gap closed a little further. Last year marked the highest percentage of female Express Entry admissions since data collection began.  To be exact, 48.5% of admissions in 2025 were female, up from 47.3% in 2024.  

At the provincial level, PEI and Nunavut had the same number of female and male permanent residents in 2025.  

In British Columbia and Yukon, there were more female admissions than male admissions. All the other provinces and territories admitted more men than women. Ontario had 36,065 males to 33,395 females.  

Express Entry Admissions by Citizenship  

Once again, citizens of India made up the highest number of Express Entry permanent resident admissions. This has been the case since Express Entry started in 2015.  

There were 44,600 Indian citizens admitted to Canada through Express Entry in 2025, far and away the highest number of admissions among any citizenship group. More than 30,000 of them listed Ontario as their intended province.   

There was also a bump in admissions for citizens of French-speaking countries. Citizens of Cameroon made up the next biggest admission group at 12,460. In fact, since 2023, there has also been an increase in Express Entry admissions for the Ivory Coast, Algeria and Morocco.  This is likely because of Canada’s large category-based selection draws for French-speaking candidates.   

Citizens of Nigeria made up the third-largest overall group of admissions at 9,555, but this actually represents a bit of a drop from 2024’s 12,280.  

Our Thoughts on 2025’s Express Entry admissions 

Overall, the trends in 2025 Express Entry admissions stayed more or less consistent with what we saw in 2024. Admissions are highest among CEC candidates and Indian citizens, and the occupations with the highest number of admissions remained the same.   

What has changed is the overall number of admissions. There was a drop of almost 20,000 admissions in 2025 compared to 2024, and it’s all down to the Immigration Levels Plan.  

This year’s (2026) Immigration Levels Plans are a little clearer than what we saw in 2025. There’s no vague ‘in-Canada focus’ — and IRCC returned to outlining targets based on programs.   

But we are still surprised by the high volume of invitations we’ve seen so far this year. We aren’t expecting a significant increase in the number of permanent residents admitted through Express Entry in 2026 compared to last year. So, the very high draw activity is interesting and worth keeping an eye on as you build your strategy for this year.   

As for what this data specifically means for your 2026 Express Entry strategy, here are a few things to consider:   

Learning French is still a strong strategy  

There were just over 22,500 Express Entry admissions for French speakers in 2025 (out of a total of ~114,000). That’s around 20% of overall admissions.   

Learning French for Express Entry opens up a range of different pathways to gain more experience in Canada, as well as access to Canada’s French category-based draws, and the extra points for French language. It’s a strong strategy that’s well worth considering this year. You can learn more about how French can help you immigrate to Canada.   

Time may be on your side  

Immigration often feels urgent and high stakes. To an extent, it isn’t fun to consider that you may need to leave and come back later, or to continue on as a temporary resident longer than planned.   

But the data showing that most Express Entry candidates are aged 30-44 years may put things in perspective, especially if you’re at the younger end of this range – or even younger than 30. There’s plenty of time left.   

If you’re older than 44 and trying to come to Canada through Express Entry, this data can also help you prepare for a more challenging journey. In this case, your age weighs against you in the ranking factors. This will ultimately impact your immigration strategy. It’s something you can’t change, but you can control your other ranking factors and focus on building your score.   

Consider Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs  

Canada’s PNPs are very competitive this year, but they are worth considering, given the higher allocations compared to last year. Even with larger admissions targets, allocations for PNPs have not increased accordingly, likely because there are more than 110,000 PNP applications in backlog (a mix of Express Entry and non-Express Entry PNPs). This means the PNP might be more competitive this year, but you should still consider it if you are working in Canada. If you can get it, a PNP nomination adds 600 CRS points to your overall score and all but guarantees an Express Entry ITA.