Canada recently made history with their biggest Express Entry draw yet: a total of 27,332 candidates were invited to apply for permanent residency.
That’s right! Canada issued a total of 27,332 invitations to apply (ITAs) in a single draw last February 13, beating their previous record of 5,000 by nearly six times.
Apart from the draw, the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score for this draw also broke records as the lowest requirement score in Express Entry history at 75 points.
For this round, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited candidates from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) category only in another targeted draw, following the previous PNP-specific draw.
In a single week, the IRCC was able to invite a total of 27,986 candidates to apply for Express Entry.
In 1995, the federal Express Entry system was established to manage Canada’s pool of economic immigration candidates. Applicants interested in permanent residency may apply for a number of economic-class migration programs, such as the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
Applicants who have submitted their profile into the Express Entry system are then ranked and given a score based on a number of human capital factors, such as age, education, work experience, language skills, and more.
Candidates with higher CRS scores have a better chance of receiving an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residency. However, the draw for this round was the lowest it has been in Express Entry history.
A tie-break rule was applied to this draw despite the large number of invitations. Candidates with a minimum score of 75 points only received an ITA if they were able to submit their profile before September 12, 2020 at 15:31 UTC.
As of this draw, including the 10,000 ITAs sent out in the month of January, the total number of ITAs issued through Express Entry has now reached a whopping 37,986.
From the sheer volume of invitations, it is clear that Canada intends to remain on track with achieving their immigration goals for 2021. With these record draws so early in the year targeting candidates that are more likely to have already settled in the country, the IRCC likely plans to begin processing their permanent residency applications as soon as possible to achieve the goal of 401,000 immigrants in 2021.
Canada still has a ways to go before accomplishing their goal for the year, but chances of receiving permanent residency are higher than ever.
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