The thirteenth draw for Canadian immigration through the Express Entry selection system was performed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) on July 17, 2015. A total of 1,581 invitations to apply (ITAs) for Canadian permanent residence were issued to candidates with 451 or more Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points.

A landmark moment

This draw represents a milestone in the short history of Express Entry for the simple reason that the CRS points requirement has decreased to 451 — thelowest cut-off point yet.

Other recent Express Entry trends have been viewed positively by candidates for Canadian immigration:

• This is the fourth draw in succession in which the number of CRS points required has decreased.
• It is also the fourth draw in a row in which candidates without a qualifying job offer from a Canadian employer or an enhanced provincial nominationcertificate have been invited to apply.
• In addition, it is the fourth draw in succession in which more than 1,500 invitations to apply were issued.
• The latest draws have allowed certain candidates who may not have been awarded a large number of points for age — or who may not have extensivepost-secondary education or highly advanced language proficiency in English or French — to receive an invitation to apply.

A number of candidates issued invitations to apply in this draw had been in the pool for some time; these candidates made efforts to increase their CRSscore and ranking by, for example, re-taking language tests and achieving better scores, or gaining additional work experience.

The CanadaVisa.com Canadian Immigration Forum wasfull of discussion this morning, as candidates who had been working proactively to improve their CRS score received their invitations to apply.

"Woke up to the great news in morning. I've been waiting since March," said one candidate. "Perfect day. Got the ITA with 461. Thank you all for thesupport, it was a long seven months wait," added another.

Other forum users were quick to reveal their thoughts on the latest Express Entry draw and how it affected them personally:

• "Got ITA! At 454, had no hopes to receive ITA anytime soon due to the score crawling in the past few draws, but CIC surprised again."
• "I'm so happy to see the scores go down."
• "Surprised. I got ITA with 461."
• "Got invitation to apply under FSW! So excited!"
• "After a long wait of six months, got ITA."
• "Congratulations everyone who got an ITA! Such exciting times for you. Can't wait to be in your shoes."
• "Great day for me! I submitted my EE Profile three days ago with only 451 points, as my husband's IELTS results aren't ready yet (with those we'll bearound 465) and got ITA! I'm so surprised and happy I can't even believe myself!"
• "Got my ITA this morning with 483! I went up from 459 just a week ago, so I've actually been waiting a little while and it was such a relief."

The thirteenth draw may also be seen as a positive development for candidates in the pool who did not receive an invitation to apply this time around, asthe number of CRS points required has been decreasing across the most recent four draws.

With an increasing number of Canadian provinces having introduced Express Entry streams as part of their Provincial Nominee Programs, candidates in theExpress Entry pool are seeing an increasing number of options and opportunities for obtaining the all-important invitation to apply. The provinces ofOntario and Saskatchewan, as well as the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, have all introduced such streams in recent weeks. Theseenhanced 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

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 thetop-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 forpermanent residence then have 60 days to submit a complete e-application, from which point the government of Canada aims to process the application withinsix 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 18 (All dates are for 2015)

• Launch date: January 1
• First draw from the pool: January 31
• Most recent draw from the pool: July 17
• 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: 15,100

Draws From The Express Entry Pool (Updated)