IRCC Invited 2500 Candidates in Recent French Category Draw
In a recent French Category Draw, IRCC Invited 2500 Candidates skilled in the French language. The department invited candidates to apply for Canadian permanent residence status.
This was the second Express Entry Draw of this week. The cut-off score for this draw was 336, which the candidates needed to be eligible for the ITA.
Overview of 2024 Express Entry Draws As Of Now.
The recent French category draw invited 2500 candidates. This latest draw occurred after a General Express Entry draw on February 28. In that draw, IRCC invited 1,410 candidates who had a minimum CRS score of 534.
A general draw considers candidates from all three major Express Entry Programs, including FSWP, FSTP, and CEC. February was a busy month as IRCC held Express Entry draws throughout the month.
Other than this draw, there were five Express Entry draws in Canada. In these draws, 13,610 candidates received an Invitation To Apply (ITA) to apply for PR. Among them, two were general draws, and three were category-based draws for healthcare, agriculture, agri-food, and French language categories.
| 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 |
| February 28 | General | 1,470 | 534 |
IRCC’s Express Entry Category Based Selections
The immigration department of Canada held Express Entry draws regularly to invite potential candidates to address labor market shortages and support the country’s economy.
Canada started category-based draws in May 2023 to fill the urgent market gaps under the Express Entry. Individuals must be in the Express Entry Pool to receive invitations under the category-based draws.
In Express Entry, candidates are assessed based on the CRS score, which considers several human capital factors. The factors include age, occupation, work experience, qualifications, and more.
Those who secure the highest CRS score have more chances to attain an ITA.
IRCC’s categories for category-based selection draw for 2024.
Recently, IRCC announced that it would continue with all the categories selected for 2023 category-based selections for this year.
After detailed consultations with different stakeholders, the department selected six categories. These include:
- Healthcare sector
- Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) sector
- Trades sector
- Transport sector
- Agriculture and agri-food sector
- Strong French proficiency
When introducing these category draws, IRCC declared that it would review these categories every year and make the necessary changes. However, on February 13, IRCC proclaimed that it would not be changing these categories in 2024.
How many ITAs will be issued by IRCC under Express Entry in 2024?
Canada releases an immigration levels plan each year that discloses Canada’s immigration target for the upcoming three years. As per the latest immigration level targets, Canada aims to accept 110,770 newcomers in 2024 under Express Entry.
This is a notable increase from the previous targets. In 2023, IRCC invited 82,880 individuals under Express Entry for Canada’s PR.
Under the same system, Canada is hoping to admit 117,500 new PR each year in 2025 and 2026. It’s expected that Canada will increase its PNP target to 120,000 for new PRs beginning in 2025. This will result in making Provincial Nominee Programs the major economic pathway for Canada’s immigration.
