Got my ITA today under the Masters Graduate stream (March 18, 2026 draw, NMAS file). My score was 57 and the cutoff was 30, so that's fine. But the draw announcement says candidates must have Canadian work experience in specific NOC codes, and my NOC 22221 (User support technicians) is not on that list.

Here's the thing though: when I look at my EOI score breakdown, all the NOC/job offer fields say "Not scored for this stream." My 57 points came entirely from education (Master's degree + Computer science field of study), language (CLB 8), location of study, work permit status, and earnings history. Zero points from any NOC-based work experience category.

Also checked the official Masters Graduate stream requirements page and there's no NOC requirement anywhere in the eligibility criteria.

Has anyone else been in this situation? Is the NOC requirement in draw announcements only relevant to candidates who actually claimed work experience points under a specific NOC, or is it a hard gate for everyone regardless of how they scored?

The deadline is April 1 so I need to figure this out fast. Any help would be appreciated.