Canada's Express Entry Selection | Total 1,040 Candidates Invited

Suchithra Munegowda Published:
January 25, 2024

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In the latest Express Entry draw which was held yesterday, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued invitations to 1,040 candidates. The draw was a general one (i.e., including all categories and streams), and candidates needed to have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 543 to be eligible to be invited. These include the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). No specific occupation category was targeted in this draw as it was an all-program draw.

This draw was conducted after the January 10 draw, where 1,510 candidates were invited in a general draw across all Express Entry managed programs. To be eligible, candidates had to attain a minimum CRS score of 546.

Following a ‘busy’ December with seven Express Entry draws, including two all-program draws and five category-based selection draws, the latter focused on criteria like French language proficiency, trades, transport, STEM, agriculture, and agri-food occupations. In 2023, IRCC conducted 42 Express Entry draws, comprising 19 general draws, 17 category-based selection draws, five draws exclusively for PNPs nominees, and one for Federal Skilled Worker candidates.

A chart depicting the CRS cut-off scores for the last 10 EE draws

Source: Owlspriority Immigration internal, IRCC

The chart illustrates a noticeable pattern in the recent Express Entry draws conducted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and this trend has been received with enthusiasm. There has been a decrease in the cut-off Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, in each separate category, resulting in a higher number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) being issued to eligible candidates. This adjustment has been made to ensure that IRCC achieves its multi-year immigration target for 2024-26, aiming to welcome over 485,000 new immigrants by the end of 2024.

What is Express Entry (EE) and how does it work?

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. Check out our Settlement Resources to learn about finding employment in Canada, making your initial days stress-free, etc.