The fifteenth draw for Canadian immigration through the Express Entry selection system has been performed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) on August 21, 2015. A total of 1,523 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for Canadian permanent residence were issued to candidates with 456 or more Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points.

This draw from the Express Entry pool marks a significant decrease in the CRS points required in order for candidates to receive an Invitation to Apply, with the requirement for the previous (fourteenth) draw having been 471.

Furthermore, this marks the sixth draw in succession in which a number of candidates without a qualifying job offer or an enhanced provincial nomination certificate were selected. It is also the sixth draw in a row in which more than 1,400 candidates were selected.

The recent trends in Express Entry have also seen draws being performed more regularly than earlier in the year. This is likely to continue, with CIC having recently stated in a mid-year Express Entry report that ‘Future rounds from the Express Entry pool will become the main source of applications to meet annual Canadian immigration levels targets.’ Click here to read more about that report.

In addition, an increasing number of Canadian provinces having introduced Express Entry streams as part of their Provincial Nominee Programs, with candidates in the Express Entry pool are seeing an increasing number of options and opportunities for obtaining the all-important Invitation to Apply. The provinces of Ontario and Saskatchewan, as well as the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, have all introduced such streams in recent weeks and months. These enhanced Provincial Nominee Program immigration streams have all been covered in-depth by CICnews.com in recent weeks:

• Ontario Core Human Capital Priorites and French-Speaking Skilled Worker streams
• Saskatchewan Express Entry
• New Brunswick Express Entry Labour Market Stream and Nova Scotia Experience: Express Entry

If a candidate in the pool obtains a qaulifying job offer or an enhanced provincial nomination certifate, he or she is awarded 600 CRS points and will receive an invitation to apply at a subsequent draw from the pool. Many candidates invited to apply this time around had applied for an received such a nomination from a Canadian province.

Express Entry

Eligible candidates may submit a profile into the Express Entry pool, where they are ranked according to the CRS. The government of Canada selects the top-ranked candidates on a priority basis when it performs one of its frequent draws from the pool. Candidates who are issued an invitation to apply for permanent residence then have 60 days to submit a complete e-application, from which point the government of Canada aims to process the application within six months. A number of early applicants have had their applications processed in under half that time.

Click here for more information on draws from the Express Entry pool that have taken place so far.

Express Entry quick facts, from January 1 to August 21 (All dates are for 2015)

• Launch date: January 1
• First draw from the pool: January 31
• Most recent draw from the pool: August 21
• Minimum CRS points required for selection in any one draw: 451 (July 17)
• Largest number of invitations to apply issued in any one draw: 1,637 (March 27)
• Fewest invitations to apply issued in any one draw: 715
• Largest decrease in CRS points required between two consecutive draws: 273 (from May 22 to June 12 draws)
• Smallest decrease in CRS points required between two consecutive draws: 6 (from June 27 to July 10 draws)
• Largest increase in CRS points required between two consecutive draws: 302 (from April 17 to May 22 draws)
• Longest gap between two consecutive draws: 35 days (from April 17 to May 22 draws)
• Shortest gap between two consecutive draws: 7 days (on five occasions)
• Total number of invitations to apply issued: 18,950

Draws From The Express Entry Pool (Updated)