Canada held a surprise Express Entry draw last May 20, inviting 1,842 candidates through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) category.
Apart from the surprise of the sudden draw, this latest Express Entry round was also unusual in that it lowered the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score requirement to 397 points.
Typically, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) does tend to invite CEC candidates with lower scores, but those scores still fall around the 400-point mark. This current score, at 397 points, is the second-lowest the IRCC has required so far this year.
The lowest CRS score the IRCC has ever set for an Express Entry round was 75 points, during the historic February 13 draw that invited over 27,000 CEC candidates to apply for permanent residency. This draw was responsible for a major boost in the IRCC achieving the immigration goals set for 2021, drawing Canada closer to welcoming at least 108,000 economic immigrants this year.
The IRCC set a tie-break cut-off for this draw, inviting CEC candidates who scored 397 and were able to submit their profile before April 24, 2021 at 12:09:24 UTC to apply for permanent residency. As of this draw, 68,317 Express Entry candidates have been invited to become permanent residents, a far cry from last year’s records as Canada continues to recover from the pandemic and target candidates who have already settled within their borders.
About the Express Entry System
In 1995, Canada established their federal Express Entry system in an effort to manage the growing numbers of economic immigraiton candidates. Interested applicants who wish to qualify for permanent residency can do so by registering to one of three different economic-class migration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP); the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP); and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
Once they have successfully registered a profile in the federal Express Entry system, potential candidates are then awarded a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. The CRS score is based on a points-system that ranks candidates according to various factors such as age, education, work experience, language skills, and more.
If you’d like to learn more about the various immigration pathways to permanent residency in Canada, feel free register for one of our private online discussions. Register to an orientation for free here.
Like and follow our Facebook page or join our LinkedIn community to get the latest updates on immigration news.
