Latest Express Entry Draw | Minimum CRS Score Drops to 447 in New Canadian Experience Class Draw

The minimum score for the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) fell to 447 as Canada conducted its new Express Entry draw aimed at candidates from the Canadian Experience class.

The May 14 draw, revealed on May 15, saw 3,371 candidates receive permanent residence invitations to apply (ITAs).

Minimum scores in the five Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws have now decreased from 467 to 447 which have taken place since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Canada.

The new draw follows a May 13 draw aimed at candidates for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) which saw 529 invited candidates and a minimum CRS score of 718.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) continues its strategy of targeting CEC and PNP candidates after travel restrictions for COVID-19 were implemented on March 18th.

Candidates in both groups are more likely to be in Canada than those who come through the other Express Entry-linked programs, which means they are not affected by travel restrictions.

Since March 18, Canada has been holding 10 draws, five targeting PNP candidates and five targeting CEC candidates. It has issued 19,520 ITAs including 2,530 candidates for the PNP and 16,990 candidates for the CEC.

So far, Canada has released 38,200 ITAs in 2020, after issuing a total of 85,300 in 2019. In 2018 IRCC broke the record with 89,800 for the annual Express Entry ITAs.

Canada’s high-qualified immigration admission target for 2020 is 85,800, up from 81,400 in 2019. However, permanent resident admissions are likely to be affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The most recent draw saw the tie-breaking rule being enforced at 6.01am EST on December 23, 2019. If more than one candidate had a minimum CRS score, invitations were received only by those who submitted their Express Entry profiles prior to that date and time.

This has been the 15th round of Express Entry invitations in 2020 and the 148th in total.