Cannot apply under MI1 & MI2 as they were for the last two years. Currently it's MI3.
If your NOC CAP is not filled, apply ASAP. MI3 is still going very fast - but Jan end should be your cut off. The reason being, by July they could have MI4 into effect and then all pending MI3 cases "might" get stuck, as pending cases usually do.
Flip side is ... your NOC may not be there next year, no matter what it is - it's too big a risk to take.
Hope that helps,
Cheers,
Odin!