IRCC invited 150 Express Entry Candidates in Agricultural Field

Yesterday, on February 16, Canada held this week’s third Express Entry draw. It targeted one of six categories and sent invitations to apply to potential candidates. In particular, IRCC invited express-entry candidates in the Agricultural Field. Read on to discover the recent draw result and the needed cut-off score.

This week’s Third Draw: IRCC invited Express Entry Candidates in Agricultural Field

Canadian immigration department, IRCC, has invited 150 Express Entry candidates who are skilled in Agriculture and agri-food occupations. Candidates needed at least a 437 CRS score in order to be eligible for an ITA under this draw.

Overview of the 2024 Express Entry Draws Till Now

Prior to this draw, IRCC also held two more draws this week. On February 14, IRCC held a category-based draw and invited 3,500 candidates from the healthcare sector. Candidates needed a minimum CRS score of 422 to be eligible for the ITA.

The February 13 draw was a general draw, and IRCC did not target any occupation. A total of 1,490 invitations to apply were sent to potential candidates. The needed cut-off CRS score for this draw was 535.

Prior to this week’s draw, on February 1, Canada witnessed another category-based draw. This was the largest draw of this year as of now. In this draw, 7000 candidates skilled in the French language with a minimum CRS score of 365 received invitations.

In January, Canada held three general Express Entry draws. A total of 3,280 candidates received invitations, and the CRS score ranges between 546 and 541.

In particular, on January 31, IRCC sent 730 ITAs to candidates with at least a 541 CRS score. Also, around 1,040 candidates who had a minimum CRS score of 543 received ITA in the January 23 draw. This year’s first Express Entry draw occurred on January 10 for 1,510 candidates. The needed CRS score for this draw was 546.

Draw Date	Type Of Draw	Total ITAs Issued	Cut-Off Score
January 10	General	1,510	546
January 23	General	1,040	543
January 31	General	730	541
February 1	French Language Proficiency	7,000	365
February 13	General	1,490	535
FEbruary 14	Healthcare occupations	3,500	422
February 16	Agriculture and agri-food occupations	150	437

Canada’s Express Entry and Category-Based Selection Draws

Canada introduced category-based selection draws under Express Entry to address its market needs. Express Entry is a system that IRCC uses to manage candidate applications under three popular immigration programs. Thes are:

CEC- Canadian Experience Class,
FSWP- Federal Skilled Worker Program, and
FSTP- Federal Skilled Trades Program.

All these programs have specific eligibility criteria that candidates must meet to immigrate to Canada under Express Entry.

Express entry employs a Comprehensive Ranking System- a point-based system that assesses candidates’ abilities. Several human capital factors, such as age, work experience, profession, qualification, and more, are assessed to assign candidates a score.

Last May, Canada selected six categories experiencing labor shortages for category-based draws to invite candidates. These include: