Express Entry draws
Under Express Entry, candidates who meet the criteria will be accepted into a pool of possible candidates for immigration to Canada.
Candidates will be ranked against others in the pool using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System. Those who rank high enough will be invited to apply for permanent residence in Canada.
Note: Entry into the Express Entry pool does not guarantee a candidate will be issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence. Invited candidates still have to meet eligibility and admissibility requirements under Canada's immigration law (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act).
When candidates are taken from the pool, it will be called a “draw”. This means CIC will pick a pre-determined number of candidates with the highest scores from the pool. These people will then be invited to apply for permanent residence.
ITA draws will be made from the Express Entry pool on a regular basis. Every draw will have a set of instructions the electronic system will use to draw candidates from the pool. These instructions will be posted on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website before each draw.
These instructions will include:
the date and time of the draw,
the number of candidates that will get an ITA, and
if it applies, which specific immigration program(s) will be included in the draw.
If the instructions do not specify which immigration program the candidates must be eligible for, the draw will be based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
Managing ties in the CRS
It is possible for there to be a tie in ranking between two or more candidates who have the same CRS score. When more than one candidate holds the lowest rank included in a particular draw, all candidates holding that lowest rank will be drawn.
