Overview of March 2024 Express Entry Pool Status
The immigration system in Canada continues to issue ITAs to eligible candidates in March, inviting them to apply for permanent residence status. Thus, March witnessed another round of Express Entry draws similar to previous months. Several key patterns were observed in the 2024 Express Entry draws, which can help understand how Express Entry might function all year long. Following is an overview of the March 2024 Express Entry Pool Status.
How does the Express Entry pool structure affect the draw sizes and cut-off scores?
Typically, it can be challenging to determine how the structure of the Express Entry pool affects the draw sizes and the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score cut-offs. However, it can help identify a few general trends.
Distribution of scores and CRS cut-offs in the Express Entry
In the Express Entry pool, the assignment of the present scores is a significant element that may affect the upcoming draw’s CRS score cut-offs.
IRCC uses the pool’s CRS scores to determine the CRS cut-off score for the next draws that candidates must have to qualify. It also helps decide the size of each draw.
In this decision-making process, there may be other factors like particular immigration policies or labor market needs. Still, the distribution of CRS scores within the pool may act as a notable factor. This is because the CRS score indicates how well-suited Express Entry candidates are within the pool.
The Impact of Category-Based Draws on this Distribution
In addition to the standard, CRS score-based, Express Entry draws, IRCC held category-based draws for the pool candidates.
These category draws particularly invite candidates with experience in a specific in-demand field or language abilities rather than considering their CRS score. IRCC started these draws to fulfill Canada’s labor market and demographic needs.
Although these draws consider more than just CRS scores, they still influence the score distribution in the Express Entry pool while issuing invitations to candidates. Thus, considering these draws during analysis may prove beneficial.
March 2024 Express Entry Draws
In March, there were four Express Entry draws across the month.
Among them, two draws were general, which invited candidates from three Express Entry-managed programs. Candidates must have the minimum CRS score to be eligible.
In these draws, the needed CRS score was higher than last year. However, this is common at the start of the year, as the scores historically decrease as the year passes.
The other two draws were category-based draws. One invited candidates skilled in transport occupations and the other with French language proficiency.
This was this year’s first transport occupations draw and third French-language proficiency draw.
Canada’s federal Express Entry system has been inviting more French-speaking candidates than Quebec’s immigration system.
These French-based draws had some of the lowest CRS score requirements in the history of Express Entry.
| Draw date | Draw type | Total Invitations issued | CRS score cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12-03-24 | General | 2,850 | 525 |
| 13-03-24 | Transport occupations | 975 | 430 |
| 25-03-24 | General | 1,980 | 524 |
| 26-03-24 | French language proficiency | 1,500 | 388 |
March 2024 Express Entry Pool Present Status
Presently, the Express Entry pool has around 211,944 profiles. This figure shows an increase of 700 profiles over the total profiles available at the end of February.
In these draws, the score distributions have remained approximately constant, with minor differences depending on the total number of candidates entered within a certain range of scores.
The following table shows the score distribution and the number of candidates in the pool. From the draw, it’s clear that the highest volume of scores falls between 351 and 400 CRS points.
| CRS Score Range | Total Number of candidates |
|---|---|
| 0-300 | 5,390 |
| 301-350 | 28,287 |
| 351-400 | 55,586 |
| 401-410 | 10,495 |
| 411-420 | 10,610 |
| 421-430 | 9,296 |
| 431-440 | 10,309 |
| 441-450 | 10,172 |
| 451-460 | 11,188 |
| 461-470 | 13,218 |
| 471-480 | 17,105 |
| 481-490 | 10,683 |
| 491-500 | 8,294 |
| 501-600 | 10,324 |
| 601-1200 | 987 |
The Score Percentile Analysis in March 2024.
Bu considering the upper limit of each score range, it’s easy to calculate what percentile a score falls into compared to the rest of the Express Entry pool candidates.
A percentile depicts how a certain score compares to the overall set of scores.
For instance, a candidate with a CRS score of 420 has a percentile score of 52.07%. This implies that their score is higher than 52.07% of the total scores in the pool.
Following is a complete list of score percentiles.
| CRS Score | Percentile (%) |
|---|---|
| 300 | 2.54 |
| 350 | 15.89 |
| 400 | 42.12 |
| 410 | 47.07 |
| 420 | 52.07 |
| 430 | 56.46 |
| 440 | 61.32 |
| 450 | 66.12 |
| 460 | 71.40 |
| 470 | 77.64 |
| 480 | 85.71 |
| 490 | 90.75 |
| 500 | 94.66 |
| 600 | 99.53 |
| 1200 | 100 |
Express Entry is Canada’s popular immigration pathway, allowing intrested candidates to move and settle in Canada effectively. If you are intrested in immigrating to Canada but have concerns about the immigration process and pathways, feel free to connect with our experienced immigration experts for help at NavaImmigration or send us an email at [email protected]
