What Was So Special About the Last Express Entry Draw

What Was So Special About the Last Express Entry Draw?

Michael Zimmer Published:
March 24, 2023

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On March 15, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) conducted a special draw inviting 7,000 candidates for permanent residency. This special draw has set a new record, beating the previous record of 5,500 candidates who were invited in the last all-program draw that was conducted on January 18. In fact, the draw is the largest ever Express Entry draw ever conducted since the introduction of the Express Entry selection system by the government of Canada on 1 January 2015.

In the draw, candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 490 or above were invited to apply for permanent residency. The CRS is a points-based selection system used by the government of Canada to assess and score candidates’ profiles in the Express Entry pool. The CRS takes into consideration various factors such as age, education, language proficiency, work experience, and other criteria.

The draw on March 15 was an all-program draw, meaning, candidates were considered from all the 3 Federal Express Entry aligned programs, viz., the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Apart from this, the provincial immigration programs (PNPs) that are managed by the respective provincial governments through Express Entry. The FSWP is the pathway to PR for skilled workers who have at least one year of work experience in a skilled occupation. FSTP is to serve skilled tradespeople who have at least two years of work experience in a skilled trade. The CEC is for skilled workers who have gained at least one year of work experience in Canada.

The IRCC has been conducting regular Express Entry draws recently. The Express Entry system was introduced on 1 January 2015 to streamline the immigration process and attract skilled workers to Canada by speeding up their application processing time. Over time, Express Entry has become the main pathway for economic immigration to Canada.

With this special draw, the IRCC has once again demonstrated its commitment to welcoming 1.5 million skilled immigrants by 2025. This is new multi-year immigration target set by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for 2023-25.

Read the full article here.

If there is a tie between candidates, the cut-off will be based on the date and time their Express Entry profiles were created. To learn more on this topic, visit this section on our website. In this draw, candidates from all Express Entry aligned Federal Programs were eligible. That is the Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC), Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and provincial nominee programs (PNPs) managed through Express Entry.

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The below chart shows the CRS Cut-off scores for the last 10 EE draws:

As you can see in the above graph, the cut-off CRS score of this draw has resumed to the previous levels. In our previous article (Read the Full article here) our experts had made this prediction. In that article, we had furnished the reasons why the cut-off CRS score of the draw conducted on March 1 went higher than its preceding draw, as well as the projected a trend for the upcoming draws in 2023 so that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) can meet the multi-year immigration target it has set for 2023-25, i.e., to welcome over 500,000 new immigrants by the end of 2023.

The new draw trend, combined with the new changes effected to Express Entry, greatly increase prospects for aspirants, when compared to the scenario before 16 November 2022 – when the new NOC [Version 2021] was not in place.

What is Express Entry (EE)?

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:

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 if you qualify for Express Entry

Contact us today to know if you qualify for Express Entry. Check out Owlspriority Immigration’s Canada Settlement Resources to learn about finding employment in Canada, making your initial days stress-free, etc.