Kareem El-Assal - 28 December, 2021
IRCC invited 746 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence in its latest draw on December 22, 2021. In addition, IRCC has confirmed Canada has broken its record by welcoming 401,000 immigrants this year.
The draw only considered Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates.
The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score cut-off to get an Invitation to Apply (ITA) was 720 points.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued 114,431 ITAs in 2021 which is the all-time record since Express Entry was launched in 2015.
Throughout 2021, IRCC has only invited PNP and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates. The rationale is CEC candidates are most likely to be in Canada and complete the permanent residence landing process during the pandemic than candidates living abroad. The rationale for PNP draws has been to help provinces and territories meet their labour market needs.
Most invitations went to CEC candidates this year but the last CEC-specific draw was held on September 14, 2021. This is to allow IRCC time to reduce the size of its Express Entry application inventory.
Express Entry is the main way that Canada welcomes economic class immigrants. If you are eligible under an Express Entry-managed program, you can upload your profile onto IRCC's website. You will receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score based on your human capital characteristics such as your age, education, language skills, and work experience. Approximately every two weeks, IRCC invites candidates to apply for permanent residence.
One of the advantages of creating an Express Entry profile is it gives you an opportunity to receive an invitation from a province to apply to their PNP. If you accept this invitation, you receive 600 additional CRS points, which all but guarantees you will receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence.
Canada breaks the record
IRCC entered this year with a goal of welcoming 401,000 new permanent residents. In a press release last week, IRCC celebrated the fact it has achieved this goal and has broken the all-time record for new permanent resident landings in a calendar year. IRCC achieved this primarily by transitioning more temporary residents living in Canada to permanent residence. Canada's goal in 2022 is to land another 411,000 new immigrants. This goal may be revised, and if so, likely revised upward, when immigration minister Sean Fraser announces the Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024 by February 10, 2022.
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