The fourteenth draw for Canadian immigration through the Express Entry selection system was performed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) on August 7, 2015. A total of 1,402 invitations to apply(ITAs) for Canadian permanent residence were issued to candidates with 471 or more Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points.

In the previous draw from the pool, which occurred three weeks ago on July 17, candidates with 451 or more CRS points were invited to apply. That draw was the fourth in a row in which the CRS points requirement had decreased. While the points requirement for the latest draw has gone up, it is worth noting that CIC continues to select a portion of candidates without qualifying job offers or enhanced provincial nomination certificates.

Moreover, with an increasing number of Canadian provinces having introduced Express Entry streams as part of their Provincial Nominee Programs, 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.

Last week, CIC released a mid-year report on the Express Entry system. You can read in-depth analysis of that report here.

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 July 31 (All dates are for 2015)

• Launch date: January 1
• First draw from the pool: January 31
• Most recent draw from the pool: August 7
• 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: 17,427

Draws From The Express Entry Pool (Updated)