The December 10 Express Entry draw is the seventh in a row to target Provincial Nominee Program candidates.
The Government of Canada invited 1,032 candidates in the federal Express Entry pool to apply for Canadian permanent residence in the latest draw. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score needed to get an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in the draw was 698.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has now issued a record number of 113,685 ITAs in 2021.
Since travel restrictions were introduced at the onset of the COVID-19, Canada has mostly been holding program-specific draws, alternating between PNP and CEC-specific draws. However, since mid-September Express Entry invitations rounds have been focused on PNP candidates only. The last CEC-specific draw was held on September 14, 2021.
About Express Entry
IRCC uses the Express Entry system to manage applications for those seeking permanent residence (PR) through Canada’s three main economic-class programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
Candidates start by creating an Express Entry profile after which they are given a CRS score. This score is based on age, education, work experience, language proficiency as well as other human capital factors. CRS points can be given to one person or to a couple if they are applying together.
PNPs, on the other hand, are operated by the provinces and territories themselves and allow them to nominate candidates who have the skills, education and work experience to contribute to their local economies. Each province and territory tailors their PNP "streams" to the current needs on their territory. Provinces like Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward and Saskatchewan have streams that are ed with the federal Express Entry system. This means that the province can search the Express Entry pool for candidates who meet a set of specific criteria and who have declared their interest in settling on its territory.
Candidates who receive a provincial nomination from a province automatically earn an additional 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score points.
The highest-ranking candidates in the Express Entry pool are then invited to apply for permanent residence in Express Entry draws.
Once a candidate receives an invitation to apply for PR, they must submit their application to IRCC, which will then make a final decision. Canada aims to process most PR applications within six months.
So far this year, Canada is expected to meet its immigration targets of more than 400,000 immigrants.
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