IRCC releases annual Express Entry report

More than double the number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) were issued in Express Entry draws in 2023 compared to 2022 according to the newly released Express Entry Year-End report for 2023.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 110,266 ITAs over 42 Express Entry draws between January 11 and December 21, 2023. This is a 136% increase over 2022’s 46,539.

Overall, there were 488,571 profiles submitted. Of these 343,875 (67%) were eligible while 144,696 (33%) were not.

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Express Entry is an application management system designed to facilitate expedited processing for economic immigration applicants in the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). It uses the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to score and rank candidates, assigning each candidate a score out of 1200. Those with high scores are the most likely to receive an ITA.

Further, 2023 saw the introduction of category-based selection draws. These draws consider candidates from all Express Entry programs but target them based on their occupation, or language ability.

Which candidates received ITAs?

Programs

The report notes that the majority of ITAs (40,052) were issued to candidates under the CEC program. This was followed by the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) (26,445 ITAs) and the FSWP (17,898 ITAs).

IRCC issued just eight ITAs to FSTP candidates. However, IRCC chooses the program under which to issue each ITA using a processing hierarchy. According to this hierarchy, a candidate eligible for both the CEC and the FSTP would be invited under the CEC. This hierarchy may help to explain the low number of ITAs issued under the FSTP.

Following the introduction of Category-Based Selection Rounds in June, IRCC issued 25,870 ITAs, accounting for 23% of all ITAs. Again, by program, 12,073 were CEC candidates, 13,790 were FSWP candidates and 7 were FSTP candidates.

CRS scores

Most CRS scores in the pool ranged between 300-550, accounting for 93% of all candidates.

The average CRS score was noted to rise above 500 for all-program (generic) draws following the introduction of category-based selection.

Draw Type	Minimum Score	Maximum Score	Score Range to Receive an ITA
Generic (includes FSWP, CEC, and FSTP)	484	561	484 - 561
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)	691	791	691 - 791
Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP)	489 (Only one draw occurred in 2023)		489
CBS Healthcare Occupations	431	476	431 - 476
CBS Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Occupations	481	486	481 - 486
CBS French Proficiency	375	486	375-486
CBS Trades Occupations	388	425	388-425
CBS Transport Occupations	435 (Only one draw occurred in 2023)		435
CBS Agriculture Occupations	354	386	354-386

Gender

The data shows that, overall, most Express Entry applicants were men. Specifically, 57% of ITAs issued went to men while the remaining 43% went to women. By program, more men received ITAs under the CEC (52%) and PNP (26%) than women. However, consistent with 2022 data, women were more likely to get an ITA through the FSWP (33% vs 22%)

Occupation

A candidate’s work experience factors into their eligibility for Express Entry. Some occupations are more in-demand or more likely to receive an ITA.

In 2023, A significant number of ITAs went to Express Entry candidates in computer, tech, and finance occupations. However, 48% of all ITAs went to candidates in “other” occupations not listed in the report.

For the second time in a row, software engineers and designers were the most likely to receive an ITA (7,259) followed by software developers and programmers (5,183).

Among the 15 occupations listed in the report, 10 of them are classified as TEER 1 under the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system. These occupations typically require a university degree.

Primary Occupation	Training Education Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) Ranking	ITAs Issued in 2023
NOC 21231; Software engineers and designers	1	7,259 (6.5%)
NOC 21232; Software developers and programmers	1	5,183 (4.7%)
NOC 62020; Food service supervisors	2	3,277 (2.9%)
NOC 21222; Information systems specialists	1	2,951 (2.6%)
NOC 13110; Administrative assistants	3	2,538 (2.3%)
NOC 21223; Database analysts and data administrators	1	2,151 (1.9%)
NOC 11202; Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations	1	2,142 (1.9%)
NOC 11100; Financial auditors and accountants	1	2,090 (1.8%)
NOC 22221; User support technicians	2	1,844 (1.6%)
NOC 20012; Computer and information systems managers	0	1,841 (1.6%)
NOC 13100; Administrative officers	3	1,747 (1.5%)
NOC 21211; Data scientists	1	1,654 (1.5%)
NOC 21221; Business systems specialists	1	1,600 (1.4%)
NOC 12200; Accounting technicians and bookkeepers	2	1,599 (1.4%)
NOC 21230; Computer systems developers and programmers	1	1,475 (1.3%)
Other		70,915 (64.3%)
Total		110,266 (100%)

Countries of residence and citizenship

As seen in 2022, most candidates who received ITAs in 2023 listed Canada as their country of residence (76,791). India once again fell into the second spot (7,394).

Of interest, Cameroon moved into the third highest number of ITAs (3,828) by just six ITAs more than Nigeria (3,822).

Lebanon is no longer in the top ten, while Pakistan received 1,173 ITAs despite not appearing in the top 10 countries in 2022.

Country of Residence	ITAs Issued in 2023
Canada	76,791 (69.6%)
India	7,394 (6.7%)
Federal Republic of Cameroon	3,828 (3.4%)
Nigeria	3,822 (3.4%)
United States of America	2,526 (2.2%)
Morocco	1,681 (1.5%)
Algeria	1,349 (1.2%)
Pakistan	1,173 (1.0%)
United Kingdom and Overseas Territories	1,157 (1.0%)
United Arab Emirates	1,051 (0.9%)
Other	9,494 (8.6%)
Total	110,266 (100%)

Of note, these numbers measure country of residence, not country of citizenship. India is the biggest source country of Express Entry ITA recipients by citizenship, followed by Nigeria and China.

Country of Citizenship	ITAs Issued in 2023
India	52,106 (47.2%)
Nigeria	7,263 (6.5%)
People's Republic of China	5,854 (5.3%)
Federal Republic of Cameroon	4,335 (3.9%)
Iran	2,693 (2.4%)
Philippines	2,593 (2.3%)
Pakistan	2,565 (2.3%)
Morocco	2,049 (1.8%)
Brazil	1,777 (1.6%)
Algeria	1,592 (1.4%)
Other	27,439 (24.8%)
Total	110,266 (100%)

Education

As in previous years, most ITAs went to candidates with post-secondary education. Among them, 46% had a post-secondary credential of three years or longer and 43% had a master's degree or entry-to-practice professional degree.

Education Level	ITAs Issued in 2023
High school or less	810 (0.7%)
One or two year post-secondary credential	7,819 (7.0%)
Post-secondary credential of three years or longer	50,294 (45.6%)
Master's Degree or entry-to-practice professional degree	47,529 (43.1%)
PhD	3,814 (3.4%)
Total	110,266 (100%)

Language

Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) requirements vary between Express Entry programs. However, candidates who demonstrate proficiency in an official language tend to have higher overall CRS scores. The 2023 data shows that 78% of Express Entry candidates had a CLB score between 7 (24%) and 9 (31%).

Another 18% had the maximum high score of CLB 10. However, this still represents a drop of 2% from 2022’s 21%.

First Official Language (English or French) Level	ITAs Issued in 2023
CLB/NCLC 4	5 (<1%)
CLB/NCLC 5	1,192 (1.0%)
CLB/NCLC 6	3,849 (3.4%)
CLB/NCLC 7	26,173 (23.7%)
CLB/NCLC 8	25,214 (22.8%)
CLB/NCLC 9	33,872 (30.7%)
CLB/NCLC 10	19,961 (18.1%)
Total	110,266 (100%)

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