Express Entry #190: Canada invited 5,956 immigration candidates

Canada held a new Express Entry draw on May 30.  A total of 5,956 candidates were invited to apply for permanent residence Visa.

This draw has Second-lowest Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) in 2021 and this is the third largest Express Entry draw ever.

Invited candidates needed to be eligible for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and have a score of at least 380 in order to receive an Invitation to Apply. Basic eligibility requirements for the CEC include one year of full-time skilled work experience in Canada, and intermediate official language skills among other criteria.

PNP-only and CEC-only draws have vastly different CRS requirements. This is because PNP candidates automatically get an additional 600 points toward their overall score. CEC candidates are not competing for invitations from other programs. As a result, IRCC takes more off the top allowing for the cutoff score to drop. In the previous CEC-only draw, the CRS requirement dropped to 397.

How does Express Entry System work?

Canada’s main three categories are managed under the Express Entry System are: –

• Federal Skilled Worker Class
• Federal Skilled Trades Class
• Canadian Experience Class

In the Express Entry system, eligible candidates for the FSWC, FSTC, CEC programs, and some Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates are scored based on the Comprehensive Ranking System, or CRS.

Candidates are ranked in the pool based on the CRS that considers 4 main factors: –

1. Age
2. Education
3. Skilled work experience
4. Proficiency in English or French

Express Entry is a two step process. In step one, candidates who are eligible under at least one of the three aforementioned skilled worker programs upload their profile onto IRCC’s website. They then get a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score based on their human capital such as their age, education, language skills, and work experience.

In step two, IRCC holds Express Entry draws approximately every two weeks and issues Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence to candidates with the highest CRS scores. If a candidate receives an ITA, they can go ahead and submit a permanent residence application to IRCC.