After a month’s wait, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has conducted the Express Entry draw. 

In this latest round of invitations, the department invited a total of 3,200 candidates. It was an all-program draw in which candidates require the lowest Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 531 to be eligible. 

Why was this a Long-Awaited Express Entry Draw? 

This was a Long-Awaited Express Entry Draw, as IRCC has not held any Express Entry draw since the last draw occurred on August 15. 

That was also an all-program draw in which IRCC issued 4,300 Invitations to Apply (ITA). 

IRCC has not given a justification for the discontinuity in the draws. However, IRCC recently announced that the Express Entry draw would resume this week. 

Notably, due to the launch of the new category-based round of invitations, there were more Express Entry Draws this summer as compared to the previous year. 

Express Entry: Immigration System 

Express Entry is a point-based immigration system that IRCC uses to manage Canada’s three well-known economic immigration pathways, which are as follows: 

1. The Federal Skilled Worker Program; 

2. The Federal Skilled Trades Program; and 

3. The Canadian Experience Class. 

There are different eligibility criteria for each Express Entry program; however, all programs use the Comprehensive Ranking System to assess and rank candidates. The CRS system assigns scores to candidates based on different human capital factors, including age, occupation, education, work experience, language ability, and more. 

Candidates with the highest CRS score have a greater probability of receiving invitations to apply (ITA) to apply for Canadian permanent residency. 

If an Express Entry Candidate receives a provincial nomination, they are considerably more likely to be sent an ITA by IRCC. This is possible because a provincial nomination provides an additional 600 CRS points to an Express Entry candidate. This provides more advantage to the EE candidates because the CRS score for most of the Express entry draws ranges from 350-550, based on the program or category. 

Category-based draws in Express Entry. 

IRCC launched the new category-based selection draws under the Express entry on May 31 and declared the six new categories that are eligible for the category-based selection 2023. 

The five categories are experience-based, whereas the sixth category does not require experience. For the sixth category, the candidate must be proficient in French. The following are the five experienced-based categories: 

• Healthcare; 

• STEM professions; 

• Trades; 

• Transport; and 

• Agriculture and agri-food 

The first category-based selection draw was held on June 28, 2023, in which candidates in the healthcare sector received invitations. 

After this, IRCC has been conducting draws for candidates in the STEM, Trade, and French-based categories. 

In order to receive an ITA through category-based selection, eligible candidates must be already present in an Express Entry program. Also, candidates must obtain CRS scores as high as possible, as IRCC ranks candidates based on the scores against other applicants. 

According to the IRCC, the new categories in the Express Entry would strengthen the economy by assisting Canada in addressing the urgent vacancies in high-demand occupations of the country’s workforce. 

The IRCC determined the categories after consultations with various sectors, including the business associations, other IRCC partners and stakeholders, and the provincial governments.