December 9th, 2023 at 02:57 am
Canada Express Entry Update: First Draw since October 2023 – IRCC
Since October 2023, Canada has been holding its first Express Entry drawing. In the most recent Express Entry draw, candidates have received invitations from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). In an all-program draw, the department sent out 4,750 Invitations to Apply (ITAs). To be considered, candidates had to receive a minimum of 561 points on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The first draw since October 26th is this one.
The IRCC tweeted on November 14 that certain applicants were having trouble with the Express Entry Profile Builder and couldn’t finish their application. The department then tweeted on November 16 to confirm that the problem had been fixed. It’s not clear if that accounted for the prolonged pause in draws.
An ITA was given to 3,600 candidates in the most recent draw. Candidates must have a minimum CRS score of 431 to be included in a category-based selection draw for healthcare jobs on October 26. The same week, there were two more draws. In a category-based selection draw held on October 25, the IRCC invited 300 candidates who could speak French. For consideration, a minimum CRS score of 486 was required.
On October 24, the last draw was held. In a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw, the IRCC invited 1,548 candidates; candidates had to receive a minimum score of 776. The minimal CRS for this kind of draw is higher since Express Entry candidates nominated by the PNP automatically receive an additional 600 CRS points.
Summary of Express Entry Draws Since June 2023
What is Category-Based Selection?
The IRCC declared in May of this year that it would start extending invitations for Express Entry rounds with a category-based selection process. These drawings aim to choose Express Entry candidates who satisfy certain requirements, like being fluent in French or having job experience in one of five industries: healthcare, STEM fields, trades, transportation, agriculture, or agrifood.
Competent workers are scarce in all of these professions. The shortages are putting pressure on the supply chain, the health care system, and Canada’s economy as a whole.
Since up to 9 million Canadians are anticipated to retire by 2030, increasing the number of qualified workers admitted is crucial to eradicating these shortages, according to Minister of Immigration to Canada Mark Miller. According to the current immigration levels plan for 2023 to 2025, by the end of 2025, 114,000 Federal high-skilled Express Entry immigrants will have been admitted to Canada annually. Despite these lofty goals, a new levels plan is anticipated on or before November 1.
The standing committee on citizenship and immigration recently noticed that there has been a slowdown in the number of Express Entry draws since Minister Miller assumed office. Christian Fox, the deputy minister of immigration, reports that an IT error during the introduction of the new categories caused the department to lower the number of draws; going ahead, the department will make up the numbers.
Additionally, the Deputy Minister announced that by December of this year, a category-based draw for skilled crafts professionals will be held. Canada has invited candidates through category-based selection draws 12 times since the initial draw in June, for a total of nearly 11,000 ITAs. Every applicant was already a part of the Express Entry pool.
What is Express Entry?
Applications for permanent residence from applicants in the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class are processed through the application management system Express Entry. Candidates are assessed through Express Entry utilizing the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
To accomplish this, the algorithm gives applicants points based on their collective human capital traits. This covers elements including age, education, occupation, language proficiency, and work experience. Every factor has a fixed point value. The candidates with the highest scores stand the best chance of being invited to apply (ITA).
A candidate has 60 days from the date of the ITA to present the IRCC with their final application for permanent residence. Within six months, the IRCC hopes to process every Express Entry application.
Canada Extends Deadline to Submit a PR Application for Express Entry
For skilled immigrants desiring permanent residency in Canada, there is an application process called Canada Express Entry. For those waiting for the next Canada Express Entry draw, there might be a delay. The application deadline for permanent residence has been extended by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) by a further sixty days.
Technical issues with the online application have prevented some applicants from submitting their Express Entry applications. Applicants who live in Canada and have dependant children above the age of 18 are affected by this.
Express Entry authorities have spoken with each of the impacted candidates personally, and are making quick work of the problem. They have added an extra 60 days to the deadline for anyone impacted to apply for permanent residency. By the way, October 10, 2023, was the date of the most recent all-program draw, and October 26, 2023, was the date of the most recent Express Entry draw.
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