The Government of Canada invited 3,900 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence in a new draw held on October 30. The latest draw brings the total number of invitations to apply (ITAs) to 71,700 issued so far this year through Canada’s Express Entry system.
According to the latest Canada Immigration Newsletter, the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score in the draw also rose to 475.
Why the rise in cut-off score?
Basically, the reason for the high CRS cut-off in the October draw was due to the fact that a full 28 days passed between all-program draws. A longer period between all-program draws usually results in a higher minimum CRS score because additional, higher-scoring candidates have time to enter a profile in the Express Entry pool.
The cut-off score of 475 in the latest draw was an increase of 11 points over the previous draw on October 2. Specifically, the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) applied a tie break of August 29, 2019. This means that all candidates with CRS scores above 475, as well as those with scores of 475 who entered their profiles in the Express Entry pool before this date and time, received an ITA.
A slowdown in Express Entry
A set number of the highest-ranked candidates are issued an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence through regular draws from the Express Entry pool, which typically take place every two weeks.
The 71,700 Express Entry Candidates invited so far in 2019 are less than that issued within the same period in 2018. That is, the number of ITAs issued so far is 2,500 less than the 74,200 issued in 2018.
As reported earlier on Nairametrics, Canada has higher admissions targets for the three Federal High Skilled economic immigration programs for 2019 and 2020 which means it could still surpass this record by the end of the year.
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How to improve your scores
Express Entry candidates with scores below the cut-off, who want to improve their scores, may do so by improving their language scores or obtaining a provincial nomination for Canadian permanent residence. Note that Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination receive an additional 600 CRS points and are effectively guaranteed an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
The last weeks have seen Express Entry-aligned provincial nominee programs in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and British Columbia issue more than 2,000 invitations to Express Entry candidates.
Know about Express Entry
The express Entry system is Canada’s principal source of skilled foreign workers. It manages the profiles of candidates for Canada’s three Federal High Skilled economic class immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class, and Canadian Experience Class.
Eligible candidates are entered into the Express Entry pool and are ranked based on a CRS score that considers factors such as age, education, skilled work experience and proficiency in English or French language.
Eligible candidates for these categories are entered into the Express Entry pool and assigned a ranking score based on factors such as age, education, work experience, and proficiency in English or French.
The highest-ranked candidates are invited to apply for Canadian permanent residency through regular draws from the pool.
