Alexandra Miekus - 11 May, 2022
Canada invited 545 candidates in the federal Express Entry pool to apply for Canadian permanent residence in a draw held on May 11.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) only invited Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates in this draw.
The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score needed to get an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in the latest Express Entry draw was 753.
IRCC used its tie-break rule in the May 11 draw. The time stamp used was December 15, 2021 at 20:32:57 UTC. This means that candidates with a CRS score above 753, as well as those with scores of 753 who entered their profile in the Express Entry pool before December 15, 2021 at 20:32:57 UTC, received an ITA in this invitation round.
Express Entry system is used 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).
When travel restrictions were introduced at the beginning of COVID-19, Canada moved away from all-program draws and began holding draws for specific programs, mainly ones geared towards PNP candidates. This was a temporary pause and Canada's Immigration Minister, Sean Fraser, has announced that Express Entry invitation rounds for FSWP and CEC candidates should resume early July. At the same time, he announced that the processing standard for new candidates would return to six months.
Candidates start by creating an Express Entry profile after which they are given a Comprehensive Ranking System (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 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 aligned 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 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 permanent residence (PR), they must submit their application to IRCC, which will then make a final decision.
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