Canada invited 761 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence on September 29.
Invited candidates had previously received nominations under a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which amounts to an automatic 600 points added to their base Express Entry score. As a result of the award, candidates needed a score of at least 742 in order to be invited.
In the previous PNP draw, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited 521 PNP candidates with scores of at least 732. The new draw is larger but also has a higher score cutoff, suggesting there are more high-scoring candidates in the pool under the Provincial Nominee Class.
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Record number of ITAs issued
IRCC invited more Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence this year than ever before. In 2020, IRCC issued 107,350 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) through the Express Entry system. So far this year, it has issued more than 108,000 invitations, with three months left to go in the year.
The number of ITAs were driven through the roof on February 13, when IRCC invited every single Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidate in the pool.
So far this year, IRCC has only held CEC and PNP draws. For this reason, the minimum score cutoffs have been up and down. Whenever there is a PNP draw the minimum score is considerably higher, since PNP candidates have all received a 600 point award. CEC draws tend to be lower, because the invited candidates are not competing with candidates that are eligible for other programs. However, if the CEC draw is considerably smaller, it could raise the score cutoff since IRCC is taking less off the top.
What is Express Entry?
Canada’s most popular immigration programs use the online Express Entry system to manage applications. There are three programs that use Express Entry: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. PNP candidates in the Express Entry pool have already qualified for one of these programs. They then applied for a nomination from a province and received it, which raised their score by 600 points.
Express Entry uses a points-based system, the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), to rank candidates’ profiles. The top-scoring candidates receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), and can then apply for permanent residency.
From there, an IRCC officer reviews their application and makes a decision. They will ask for biometrics, and may set up an interview or ask for more documents.
If the application is approved, IRCC issues a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR). Approved permanent residents can then complete the landing process. If they are outside Canada, they can access pre-arrival services to help them with the first steps for settling in Canada.
Who was invited?
Lakshmi is 39, holds a bachelor’s degree and has been working as an information system manager for six years. Lakshmi has an advanced English language proficiency and has never worked or studied in Canada. She entered the Express Entry pool with a CRS score of 386. She recently received a provincial nomination through Alberta’s Express Entry stream. Her new CRS score of 986 would have been high enough to get an ITA in the new Express Entry draw.
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