Medical Exams for Express Entry in Canada
All immigrants applying through Express Entry must complete a medical exam as part of their application for permanent residence (PR). The results must be included with their PR application. This is called an upfront medical exam.
For Express Entry, an upfront medical exam is required for the principal applicant as well as their spouse, common-law partner, and any dependent children – even if their family members are not accompanying them to Canada.
The medical exam is only required for the PR application. It is not required to create an Express Entry profile.
Update: the requirement to get a medical exam hasn’t changed, but there have been some major updates to the timing requirements for the exam.
Keep reading to get our full breakdown the recent changes.
What’s Changed?
Today’s change impacts Express Entry candidates who are currently in Canada but have not had a medical exam for immigration purposes in the past five years, as well as all candidates outside Canada.
Prior to August 21 (today), relevant applicants who received an ITA for Express Entry could submit their application for permanent residence and wait for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to request a medical exam.
From today, these applicants will need to submit upfront medical exam results with their application for permanent residence. In other words, you should have the medical exam before you submit your application and include the exam results (via the IME number) with your application.
This may cause some hardship for applicants who have received an ITA, but not yet submitted their application. These applicants will need to book in for an immigration medical exam as soon as possible.
For applicants expecting to receive an ITA soon, we suggest reaching out to your local immigration medical exam office and finding out about waitlists and availability. You should work out your approximate wait time and determine whether you can wait until you receive an ITA to book your exam.
In-Canada Applicants with a Current Medical Exam
For applicants who are currently in Canada and who have had a medical exam in the past five years, you are not impacted by these changes.
Applicants who are already residing in Canada and have completed a medical exam for another immigration program within the five years prior to applying through Express Entry may submit the IME number (or the unique medical identified number) from their previous IME in their current application. Notably, the previous IME must have indicated that the applicant had a low risk or no risk to public health or public safety.
This exemption is in place until at least October 5, 2029.
