On October 14, Canada invited 4,500 candidates to apply for permanent residency in a recent Express Entry draw, matching the record for the largest draw in history.
This latest draw required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 471 points, similar to a previous Express Entry draw held last September 30.
Canada’s Express Entry system manages the pool of candidates from the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC), awarding them a ranking score based on a number of human capital factors.
Candidates who meet the minimum score requirement during a draw are then issued Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residency. For this draw, IRCC implemented a tie-break rule, inviting candidates with a minimum CRS score of 471 who submitted their Express Entry application before September 1, 2020, at 12:11:23 UTC.
Beginning in the month of September, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada held consecutive all-program draws inviting 4,200 candidates each. The draws were held every two weeks, with the first draw on September 2.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Canada held their biggest Express Entry draw on February 19, issuing 4,500 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in an all-program draw. When the pandemic began, the IRCC initially targeted candidates from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), as they were less likely to be affected by travel restrictions.
In July, Canada began the return to all-program draws as the country’s COVID situation began to see improvement, leading up to this latest record invitation round. As of the October 14 draw, Canada has now issued 82,850 ITAs for permanent residency.
These numbers have brought the IRCC closer to achieving their target numbers for federal skilled immigration, and sees 2020 shaping up to be a record-breaking year for Express Entry, having thus far issued the most invitations in the history of the draw.
Though the pandemic continues to persist, Canada continues to make progress on economic recovery, and has continued to maintain their belief that immigrants will be a key factor in the country’s post-pandemic future. At the end of the month, Canada will be releasing their new immigration levels, which will dictate the course of Canadian immigration in the near future.
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