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Upholding the spirits of Canada Immigration, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held this year’s 160th Express Entry draw. The focus in these nomination draws shifted to candidates who have already held a provincial nomination and registered in the Express Entry pool.
A provincial nomination certificate is issued by Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) which is run independently by 13 provinces and territories in Canada. The unique federal-provincial-territorial arrangement allows these provinces and territories to nominate economic-class immigrants including skilled workers, entrepreneurs, student graduates. Such class of immigrants are selected based on eligibility criteria determined uniquely by different Provincial Nominee Programs.
Find out the best PNP that suits your profile with the help of PNP-finder tool.
August 19 PNP-specific draw selected 600 candidates with a provincial nomination and issued them invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence in Canada. Such nominated candidates had a cut-off score of 771. This minimum qualifying Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 771 is 86-points higher than the previous PNP-specific draw held July 22. While the reason for a spike in CRS score is not revealed in the official press release, it could be partially due to a large number of candidates in the Express Entry pool.
The Express Entry pool record applications of those candidates who had qualified for one of the three federal immigration programs- the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP), the Federal Skills Trades Program (FSTP) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Each registered profile in the Express Entry pool is assessed and evaluated according to a Comprehensive Ranking System. A CRS score is mainly based on factors such as age, education, work experience, proficiency in English/French.
Additionally, each PNP has a dedicated immigration stream that allows them to issue provincial nominations to candidates registered in the Express Entry pool. This provincial nomination can fetch an addition of 600 points to the candidates’ overall CRS score, thereby, guaranteeing them a permanent residency in subsequent Express Entry draws.
Often there occurs a situation where two or more candidates end up with same CRS score. In such cases, IRCC applies its tie-break rule in every draw to rank these candidates accordingly. The tie-break rule for this draw recorded the timestamp as July 24, 2020, at 11:29:33 UTC. Therefore, any candidate with a CRS score above 771 and have registered their profiles before the given due date and time is eligible to receive an ITA in this invitation round.
Program-specific Express Entry draws held in 2020
In order to qualify for the CEC program, candidates are required to have prior one-year work experience in Canada. Whereas those with a provincial nomination be will be considered for PNP-specific Express Entry draws such as the present draw.
| Draw Number | Date | Number of ITAs issues | Minimum CRS |
| 160 | August 19 | 600 | 771 (PNP-specific) |
| 159 | August 6 | 250 | 415 (FSTP- specific) |
| 157 | July 24 | 3343 | 445 (CEC-specific) |
| 156 | July 22 | 557 | 687 (PNP-specific) |
| 154 | June 25 | 3508 | 431 (CEC-specific) |
| 153 | June 24 | 392 | 696 (PNP-specific) |
| 152 | June 11 | 3551 | 437 (CEC-specific) |
| 151 | June 10 | 341 | 743 (PNP-specific) |
| 150 | May 28 | 3515 | 440 (CEC-specific) |
| 149 | May 27 | 385 | 757 (PNP-specific) |
| 148 | May 15 | 3371 | 447 (CEC-specific) |
| 147 | May 13 | 529 | 718 (PNP-specific) |
| 146 | May 1 | 3311 | 452 (CEC-specific) |
| 145 | April 29 | 589 | 692 (PNP-specific) |
| 144 | April 16 | 3782 | 455 (CEC-specific) |
| 143 | April 15 | 118 | 808 (PNP-specific) |
| 142 | April 9 | 3294 | 464 (CEC-specific) |
| 141 | April 9 | 606 | 698 (PNP-specific) |
| 140 | March 23 | 3232 | 467 (CEC-specific) |
| 139 | March 18 | 668 | 720 (PNP-specific) |
All-program Express Entry draws held in 2020
IRCC resumed its popular all-program Express Entry draws after a gap of four months. It meant that candidates under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) were also considered for Canada PR. As experienced from the earlier program-specific draws, such candidates did not receive ITAs from such draws.
Candidates need not have a job offer to apply for Canada PR under the Express Entry. However, candidates having one may be awarded additional points under CRS.
| Draw Number | Date | Number of ITAs issues | Minimum CRS |
| 158 | August 5 | 3900 | 476 |
| 155 | July 8 | 3900 | 478 |
| 138 | March 4 | 3900 | 471 |
| 137 | February 19 | 4500 | 470 |
| 136 | February 5 | 3500 | 472 |
| 135 | January 22 | 3400 | 471 |
| 134 | January 8 | 3400 | 473 |
The federal Express Entry program proved to be a game-changer since its inception in 2015. It has become the most prefered pathway for economic-class immigrants looking to obtain Canada PR. It has issued permanent residency on an average to over 60,000 candidates each year. The present tally of successful ITAs stands at 62,450 which is in-itself a new record. This is also of the indication that IRCC will meet its annual target of 85,800, despite the current disruptions caused by corona pandemic.
The standard processing time for permanent residence applications through the Express Entry is about six months. Hence, CanApprove recommends interested aspirants to start planning their immigration to Canada now. We offer excellent immigration and overseas education consultancy. Get in touch with our immigration consultants to know your eligibility and various options for immigration to Canada.
