Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in the fourth Express Entry draw of the week.
The department invited 400 candidates to apply in category-based selection draw for candidates in agriculture and agri-food occupations. Candidates needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 386 to be eligible for an ITA.
This draw follows three others this week on December 18, 19 and 20. The December 18 draw was all-program and invited 1,325 candidates with a minimum CRS of 542.
On December 19, IRCC invited 1,000 candidates in the second category-based draw for trades occupations this year. Candidates required a minimum CRS score of 425. The first such draw took place on August 3 and invited 1,500 candidates.
Finally, on December 20, IRCC issued invitations to 670 candidates in a category-based selection draw for transport occupations. Candidates needed a CRS score of at least 435.
IRCC also invited candidates in three draws last week. On December 8, 5,900 candidates with a minimum CRS of 481 received invitations in a category-based selection draw for candidates in STEM occupations. December 7th additionally saw a category-based draw for individuals with French language proficiency, inviting 1,000 candidates from the Express Entry pool with a minimum CRS of 470. There was also an all-program draw on December 6 for candidates with a minimum CRS of 561. It was the first draw to take place in over a month. Before that, the most recent draw was a category-based selection draw for candidates in healthcare occupations on October 26.
IRCC did not confirm a cause for the temporary pause in draws although on November 14 the department tweeted that there was an IT issue with the Express Entry profile builder for candidates who had received an ITA and were trying to upload their final application to IRCC’s website. Two days later on November 16, the department reported that the glitch had been fixed but draws did not immediately resume as was widely expected.
There are many possible reasons IRCC may delay an Express Entry draw, such as if they are already on track to meet targets for Express Entry candidates set out in the Immigration Levels Plan, IT issues, staffing changes, or updates to the Comprehensive Ranking System.
Express Entry is an application management system that oversees three prominent economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). Express Entry uses the Comprehensive Ranking System to evaluate candidates based on their human capital factors and then assigns a score. Those with the highest CRS score are the most likely to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence in an upcoming Express Entry draw. Once a candidate receives an ITA, they can then submit their application to IRCC, which has a service standard of six months for processing Express Entry applications and issuing a final decision.
Last May, IRCC announced that it was introducing category-based selection rounds of invitations for Express Entry candidates. Through these new rounds, IRCC targets candidates who have specific attributes that will help strengthen Canada’s workforce and economy. This includes candidates with French language proficiency, as well as those with work experience in several sectors that are currently experiencing labour shortages in Canada, including healthcare, STEM professions, trades, transport, and agriculture and agri-food. ITAs issued in category-based selection rounds will count toward the targets for Federal High Skilled (Express Entry) workers in the Immigration Levels Plan. Over the next three years, Canada will admit up to 114,000 new permanent residents each year through Express Entry by the end of 2025.
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