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Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held back-to-back program-specific Express Entry draws on April 29.
The 185th Express Entry draws resulted in 6,000 invites to CEC-only candidates who already have work experience in Canada. Typically, recent foreign graduates, temporary foreign skilled workers qualify for the permanent residence (PR) under Canada Experience Class (CEC) program.
The CEC was created in 2008 to help more temporary workers and international student graduates to transition to PR. The CRS requirement for qualification in the new invitation round was 17 points lower than the previous CEC-only draw.
With this, Canada has already issued over 60,000 invitations in 2021 to eligible Express Entry candidates to apply for PR.
Since the start of 2021, IRCC has been following a distinct trend of conducting only alternative program-specific nomination draws which either include Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC). This further led to the exclusion of candidates who qualify under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP).
FSWP is one of the largest immigration programs in Canada which attracts talented skilled workers who have had no work experience in Canada yet can qualify for PR based on factors like age, education, language proficiency, and relevant work experience in their home country.
However, Canada will resume all-program Express Entry draws once the pandemic is subdued globally. Until then you may check for your eligibility for other programs using our free assessment tool.
One other way would be also to work on your skill improvement to improve your chances of qualifying under FSWP once it resumes in near future. Contact CanApprove to know which skills should you prioritize to multiple your chances of selection.
Top Highlights From April 28 PNP-only Express Entry Draws
- Draw-size:
IRCC ended up inviting 6,000 immigration candidates who already had a provincial nomination and were registered in the federal pool. The size draw remains the same as that of the previous CEC-only draw.
All candidates with provincial nominations have already demonstrated their connection to a province or territory and experience to succeed in the labor market that nominated them.
Further, they may qualify to receive invitations for Canada PR the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, or Canadian Experience Class.
- Qualifying CRS score:
Any profile that is registered in the federal Express Entry pool will be evaluated and ranked out of a total of 1200 points based on a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). It considers human capital factors like age, education, work experience outside Canada, language proficiency in English/French, spouse adaptability, Canadian study experience, etc.
Candidates who receive provincial nominations through ‘enhanced’ PNP streams will get an additional 600 points towards their CRS score.
April 28 draw selected candidates having a minimum CRS score of 400 which is 17 points lower than the previous PNP-specific draw held on April 16.
- Tie-break rule:
Usually, IRCC applies a tie-break rule to avoid confusion in the rankings due to the same CRS score awarded to two or more candidates. This draw invited candidates who had a minimum score of 717 and only if they submitted their Express Entry profile before April 24, 2021, at 15:24:49 UTC.
Canada is expected to welcome over 401,000 new immigrants in 2021. About 80,000 invitations will be sent out to eligible candidates through PNP and over 108,800 ITAs for Canada PR through Express Entry programs.
Contact CanApprove to kick-start your process of immigration to Canada.
