Express Entry Draw | Highest Intake Ever Recorded

Canada welcomed 27,332 applicants to apply for permanent residence in a single Express Entry draw that was held on 13 February 2021. This is the first time in history, the government of Canada is admitting such a high volume of applicants in a single draw.

Candidates from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) specifically were invited by Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on 13 February. Invited candidates needed to have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 75 only for receiving an invitation in this unparalleled Express Entry invitation round.

In each of the four Express Entry draws that took place between November 18 and December 23 last year, a total of 5,000 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) were issued. The lowest CRS cut-off requirement ever was 199 points in the 16 May, 2017 draw, which in fact invited applicants from the Federal Skilled Trades Program only.

Canada also held an Express Entry draw on Wednesday to invite 654 applicants from the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) to apply for permanent residence, making a total of 27,986 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) released this week. Also see our news article surrounding this specific provincial invitation round.

A tie-break rule was also enforced by IRCC, meaning, candidates who had a minimum score of 75 were included IF they submitted their Express Entry profile at or before 15:31 UTC 12 September 2020.

The figure factually speaks out IRCC’s dedication to achieve its goal of 401,000 new immigrants by the end of 2021. Of those, according to its 2021-23 multi-year immigration policy, IRCC aims to accept 108,500 immigrants through Express Entry-aligned programs. The target will rise to 110,500 next year and then to 113,750 in 2023. Canada has allocated the largest share of new immigrant allocations for the next three years to Federal High Skilled programs, through the Express Entry system. This means that, for the near future, the Express Entry system will continue to be Canada’s primary source of new immigrants.

Recently, Canada’s Immigration minister, Marco Mendicino, said that the IRCC would achieve ambitious immigration targets by transferring more temporary immigrants during the pandemic to permanent residents. This extraordinary draw suggests that at the beginning of this year, IRCC intends to issue as many invitations as possible so that the permanent residence landings of qualified Express Entry candidates can be completed later in 2021. This would give IRCC a significant opportunity to reach its immigration levels during the ongoing coronavirus disturbances worldwide. At the same time, IRCC and Mendicino emphasize that they will also look at global talent to help the post-pandemic recovery of the country, including those currently outside Canada.

Check out Owlspriority Immigration’s Canada Settlement Resources to learn more about ways to finding a new job in Canada, making your initial days in Canada stress-free and confident, etc.