Approximately every two weeks, the Canadian Government conducts an Express Entry (EE) draw, giving skilled foreign workers the opportunity to apply for permanent residence in Canada.
The program – along with all other IRCC programs – was previously on an 18-month hiatus that started in December 2020. This pause was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the EE program resumed on July 6 of this year with a trend of lowering the Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) cut-off each draw.
Since then, there have been six bi-weekly draws. The last one was held on September 14, 2020, where the IRCC issued 3,250 invitations to apply (ITA). This means the seventh draw will take place this Wednesday, September 28, 2020.
Express Entry CRS Downwards Trend
Every Express Entry draw is accompanied by a CRS cut-off score, which represents the lowest possible score a candidate can rank to receive an invitation to apply.
An individual’s maximum score is 1200, but the recent draw held on the 14th had a cut-off score of 510. Below are the results from the previous six draws that shows the downward trend of the CRS cut-off score.
| Draw Number | Date | Number of ITAs | CRS Cut-Off |
| 226 | July 6, 2022 | 1,500 | 557 |
| 227 | July 20, 2022 | 1,750 | 542 |
| 228 | August 3, 2022 | 2,000 | 533 |
| 229 | August 17, 2022 | 2,250 | 525 |
| 230 | August 31, 2022 | 2,750 | 516 |
| 231 | Sept. 14, 2022 | 3,250 | 510 |
Criteria for the CPS include age, the highest level of education, language skills, Canadian work experience, other work experience, skill transferability, and other factors.
This means that applicants in the Express Entry for the upcoming draw could potentially only need to meet less than 50 per cent of the eligibility criteria.
What does Express Entry mean?
Express Entry is one of the fastest and the most popular programs for immigrants to receive Canadian permanent residency. The EE is a points-based application system that manages the immigration profiles of
- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
- Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
To learn more about Express Entry, click here.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to improve your CRS score as well, our previous post How to Improve your Score for Express Entry Canada explains more about how you can achieve it.
Benefits of Express Entry Applicants
Foreign workers who apply through EE have a high chance of attaining permanent residence in Canada. In addition, the EE is an online program that has no maximum cap on applicants. It is also open throughout the year.
Additionally, the number of ITAs issued is based on the Annual Immigration Levels. For 2022, that number is 432,000. So far, it has been reported that Canada has welcomed over 40,000 immigrants through Express Entry.
What’s next for you?
Canada is also seeing historically low unemployment rates as well as an influx in job vacancies. The IRCC aims to tackle this by creating a major change to the EE next year.
The changes being reported involve issuing ITAs to individuals with specific work experience, education, or language ability.
Under the new program, the newly issued ITAs can be to anyone from any of the three groups that the IRCC believe to be well-positioned to support Canada’s economy and labour force.
This new system would potentially make the CRS score’s relevancy less vital to receiving permanent residency.
As new information comes forward in regard to the Express Entry Program and other immigration news, we at mana immigration will be quick to report it. Make sure to follow us on social media to stay up to date.
Contact one of our trusted professionals if you need help with your immigration process through EE or another program. We are happy to assist you with documentation, application processing, and consultations.
