Upfront Medical Exams Mandatory for Express Entry PR Applicants Starting August 21, 2025

Nationwide Visas
[Published 18 Aug, 2025 | 06:23 AM]
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has made an announcement of a very important change to the Express Entry Program. It states that all applicants under the Express Entry program will now be required to undergo upfront medical examinations before submitting an application for permanent residence. Starting from August 21, 2025, this new requirement will come into effect.

Check Your Eligibility for Canada PR

Previously, most of the applicants underwent the Immigration Medical Exam (IME) only after the submission of a PR application, once the IRCC issued further instructions on the matter. The new measure intends to avoid lengthy processing times and delays that arise from waiting for medical results after submission of the application.

Who will be impacted by this?

• Express Entry Applicants: Now the applicant will need to complete an upfront IME before Apply for Canada PR.
• Other PR Applicants: It remains the same, so those applicants still receive medical examination instructions after submission and must fulfil it within 30 days.
• Applications submitted before August 21, 2025 None of these applications will fall under the new policies.

More on the Immigration Medical Examination (IME)

The IME is a compulsory health assessment performed by an IRCC-approved panel physician. An applicant cannot use his/her family doctor unless on the official list of panel physicians published by IRCC.

Costs of an IME range from $140 to $280 per person, according to estimates, and all should exclude additional charges for visits to specialists or further tests.

A standard IME might include:

• Full Medical history (surgeries, treatments, etc.)
• Physical examination of the complete body (eyes, heart, etc.)
• Chest X-ray (usually meant for TB screening).
• Blood and urine tests.
• Mental health assessment(s).
• Vaccination (vaccine) record check.
• Medical Admissibility Standards

Applicants and all family members included in the application, whether accompanying or not must meet Canada’s medical admissibility requirements. This means they must not pose a danger to public health or safety and must not create excessive demand on Canada's health or social services, defined as more than $27,162 per year in healthcare costs.

Reuse of Previous Medical Exams

IRCC has also confirmed that it extends this temporary public policy on IMEs to October 5, 2029. Under this policy, an applicant who underwent an IME in the previous five years for a different visa type (i.e., for a work or study permit) can reuse those results when applying for permanent residence, provided that they submit their IME number (also called a unique medical identifier) in the new application. IRCC will then review and confirm whether the previous examination can be accepted.

Preparing for the Medical Exam

An applicant must attend the medical exam appointment with the following:

• The previously valid passport or approved identity document
• Recent photographs (if required by the clinic)
• Vaccination records (COVID-19 and other vaccines are not mandatory but encouraged)
• Any reports or test results for past or current conditions
• Listing of current medications

The applicant should also be prepared to cover costs not limited to those incurred by the physician, X-ray, laboratory tests, and other additional needed treatments or vaccines. These findings will not be repayable even if the PR application is declined.

Why is this important for Express Entry candidates?

For those who want to apply for Canada immigration through the Express Entry Program, the upcoming change requires much preparation up front. It would mean entirely planning for a medical examination before applying with the IRCC-approved panel physician so that the delays do not occur primarily in peak demand seasons when appointment scheduling capacity may be restricted.

This adds another requirement before submission, but is expected to help expedite the final decision because upfront IMEs to the PR application will remove one of the most common bottlenecks in the processing of PR applications.

Note:

If you fill out an Express Entry PR application on or after August 21, 2025, do your medical exam before you apply. Find the IRCC list of panel physicians early, put together the necessary documentation, and plan for costs to ensure a smooth process.

Source: canada.ca