2026 RCIP / FCIP priority occupations

A role outside the current list cannot be submitted, and that rule is hard. But the list is republished by the community every year, so this year's absence is not next year's. Before giving up, check your role against the NOC system by duties rather than title, because plenty of people have simply misidentified their NOC. Whether any case-by-case exemption exists is for GSDC's current notice to say, and this site will not promise one on their behalf.

• GSDC's RCIP / FCIP page

By duties, not by title. Search your role in Canada's official NOC system and read the main duties line by line: whichever NOC describes the bulk of your daily work is yours. The same “assistant” title can land on administrative assistant (13110) or receptionist (14101), with different language requirements. When in doubt, match against the duties written on your offer.

• Official NOC system

GSDC scores each occupation separately, and personal care attendants, dental assistants, medical laboratory assistants, ECE assistants and home support workers sit at 0. Zero does not mean ineligible: they are on the list and can be submitted, they just earn nothing on that line. Sector points still apply, 15 for health for instance, so the points have to come from experience, language, education and local ties.

• Try it in the calculator →

Under RCIP it is set by the TEER of the role's NOC: CLB 6 for TEER 0 or 1, CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3, CLB 4 for TEER 4 or 5. TEER is the second digit of the five-digit NOC, and every row here shows both, so there is nothing to work out. FCIP is assessed in French on IRCC's own bands.

Because NOC 2021 puts them under one code, while GSDC's grid splits them into two rows: registered early childhood educators score 12, ECE assistants score 0. Same NOC, twelve points apart depending on whether you hold the Ontario RECE registration. The calculator on this site lists them as two separate rows for that reason, so pick the right one.

• Scoring calculator →

Not at all. Each RCIP community sets its own priority sectors and occupations. Sudbury's leans mining, engineering technology, heavy equipment and health; Thunder Bay's carries far more sales-and-service roles, and its per-NOC caps work differently. Carrying one community's list over to another is among the most common mistakes, so use the current list for the community you are actually going to.

• Thunder Bay's 2026 priority occupations →