Invitations to apply (ITAs) for the most recent Express Entry draw have been released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
In an all-program draw, 1,325 individuals were invited to apply by the department.
To qualify for an ITA, candidates had to receive a minimum of 542 points on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
This draw comes after the most recent results, which were announced on December 8 and involved a category-based selection draw for candidates in STEM occupations. During that draw, 5,900 individuals were awarded an ITA with a minimum CRS of 481.
On December 6, there was an additional all-program draw for applicants who had at least a 561 CRS. It had been more than a month since the last draw. Before that, on October 26, there was a category-based selection draw for applicants seeking jobs in the healthcare industry.
Although the government tweeted on November 14 that there was an IT problem with the Express Entry profile builder for candidates who had received an ITA and were attempting to upload their final application to IRCC's website, IRCC did not confirm a reason for the brief suspension of draws.
On November 16, two days later, the department announced that the error had been resolved; however, contrary to expectations, drawings did not start up again.
The Immigration Levels Plan's targets for Express Entry candidates, IT problems, staffing adjustments, or improvements to the Comprehensive Ranking System are just a few of the numerous reasons why the IRCC could postpone an Express Entry draw.
Express Entry draw summary since June 2023:
Date | Draw Type | Number of ITAs | Minimum CRS |
STEM occupations | 5,900 | 481 | |
French language proficiency | 1,000 | 470 | |
All-program | 4,750 | 561 | |
Healthcare occupations | 3,600 | 431 | |
French language proficiency | 300 | 486 | |
PNP-only | 1,548 | 776 | |
All-program | 3,725 | 500 | |
Agriculture and agri-food occupations | 600 | 354 | |
French language proficiency | 500 | 472 | |
All-program | 3,000 | 504 | |
Transport occupations | 1,000 | 435 | |
All-program | 3,200 | 531 | |
All-program | 4,300 | 496 | |
Trade occupations | 1,500 | 388 | |
French language proficiency | 800 | 435 | |
All-program | 2,000 | 517 | |
French language proficiency | 3,800 | 375 | |
All-program | 800 | 505 | |
French language proficiency | 2,300 | 439 | |
Healthcare occupations | 1500 | 463 | |
STEM occupations | 500 | 486 | |
All-program | 700 | 511 | |
Healthcare occupations | 500 | 476 | |
All-program | 4,300 | 486 | |
All-program | 4,800 | 486 |
What is category-based selection?
The IRCC declared in May of last year that it would be inviting candidates for Express Entry through category-based selection rounds.
The Immigration and Refugee Council of Canada (IRCC) is focusing on candidates in these new rounds who possess a particular, in-demand skill that the minister of immigration thinks will bolster Canada's labour force and economy. One of the six categories is for candidates for Express Entry who have a high level of proficiency in French. The remaining five are reserved for applicants with prior job experience in fields where there is a labour shortage in Canada, such as:
Healthcare
STEM professions
Trades
Transport
Agriculture and agri-food
ITAs awarded during category-based selection rounds will be taken into account when calculating the Immigration Levels Plan targets for Federal High Skilled (Express Entry) employees. By the end of 2025, Canada will have admitted up to 114,000 new permanent residents annually through Express Entry over the course of the next three years.