Express Entry Draw | 746 PNP Candidates Invited

Canada held another Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw on this 22 December inviting 746 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence. The invited candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 720 to receive an invitation. All candidates invited held a provincial nomination which automatically added 600 points to their base Express Entry scores.

IRCC had invited a record-breaking 1,032 PNP candidates to apply in the previous draw. In that draw, the minimum score requirement was 698.

In respect of the federal government’s immigration agreements with provinces and territories, IRCC has continued to invite PNP candidates. Although the federal government has the final say on who gets permanent residence and citizenship, provinces can nominate newcomers who can help them meet their population and economic growth goals. According to studies and accompanying statistics, both PNP and CEC candidates perform well in the job market.

Records taken from October and November reveal that the IRCC has been processing 1700 Provincial Nominee Program (PNPs) applications per month. This year, a record number of candidates have been issued invitations. Nearly 114,431 candidates have received Invitations to Apply (ITAs) as compared to last year wherein only 102,350 ITAs were issued.

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic started, Canada has held 35 PNP-specific Express Entry draws, with 19,563 candidates receiving invitations to apply for Permanent Residence. During the same period, Canada held 27 Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws rendering 133,868 invitations. 11 draws invited Express Entry Candidates from all programs including Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP).

The minimum CRS score requirement varies for PNP and CEC draws. PNP draws have a higher CRS cut-off score requirement due to the automatic addition of 600 points to the candidate’s Express Entry profile on receiving a nomination from the province. On the other hand, CEC draws have a comparatively lower CRS score cut-off since the draw is concentrated on a specific group of people. However, these streams do not compete with Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC) specific Express Entry draws. The graph below shows the CRS score cut-off scores for the last 10 draws.

Express Entry

Express Entry is an electronic selection system used by the Federal as well as Provincial governments of Canada [to select], as well as designated Canadian employers [to nominate] candidates for Canadian permanent residence under three of its popular economic [skilled] immigration programs:

• Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC), 

• Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC), and

• Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

Candidates eligible for any of the above programs are given a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score in the Express Entry Pool. It is based on their Core/Human capital factors such as age, work experience, education, and language ability in English and/or French, etc. And, based on scores, candidates are periodically invited (or nominated) for permanent residence. 

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