For the third consecutive week, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has held an all-program Express Entry draw inviting 7,000 candidates to apply for permanent residence (PR) in Canada.
In the fifth all-program draw of 2023, IRCC once again considered candidates from all three programs managed under Express Entry - the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).
After a surprise draw last Thursday, today's draw saw IRCC once again issue 7,000 invitations to individuals in the Express Entry pool, matching the record for the largest all-program draw in history that was set on March 15, 2023.
This afternoon's draw invited Express Entry candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 481, down a further three points from the cut-off score in last week's draw (minimum CRS score of 484). This marks the second consecutive draw where the cut-off CRS score has dropped, coming less than one week after the CRS score dropped six points following the March 15th draw (minimum CRS score of 490).
Although Express Entry has been unpredictable in 2023, candidates who are still in the pool should expect another draw in about two weeks.
About Express Entry
The Express Entry application management system is used by Canada's federal government to handle immigration applications from three programs - the CEC, the FSWP and the FSTP. These programs work together to bring foreign skilled workers into this country because Canada uses Express Entry as one means of offering permanent residence (PR) to interested candidates.
The Express Entry system for immigrating to Canada as a permanent resident involves the following general steps:
- Verifying, as a foreign national interested in Canadian PR, that you are eligible for at least one of the three programs under Express Entry
- Submitting an Express Entry profile online through IRCC. Simultaneously, this will give candidates an opportunity to review their CRS scores.
Once a candidate submits their online Express Entry profile, At this time, they must keep an eye out for when IRCC conducts another Express Entry draw. At this time, if the candidate has a CRS score that exceeds the cut-off score chosen for that particular draw, they may receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for PR in Canada.
Note: ITAs are considered the "key" to permanent residence in Canada because only upon receiving an ITA can Express Entry candidates apply to become permanent residents in Canada this country.
Candidates will have 60 days from when they receive their ITA to complete and submit an online application for Canadian PR to IRCC. In other words, ITAs serve as the true "key" to permanent residence in this country because foreign national applicants through Express Entry can only apply for permanent resident status in Canada once they hold an ITA.
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