Applicants are invited to the second annual Provincial Nominee Program-only draw.
The sixth Express Entry draw of 2023 was held today by IRCC.
Invitations were sent to 699 applicants having a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 791 by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Only candidates in the Provincial Nominee Program were eligible for the draw. In 2023, this was the third program-specific draw; the first two were held on February 1 and 2, respectively. Only candidates who had already secured provincial nomination were invited to the February 1 draw, whereas the Federal Skilled Worker Program's draw on February 2 was program-specific (FSWP).
For 2023, a draw pattern has not yet been decided.
Express Entry draws typically take place on Wednesdays every two weeks. The patterns established prior to the COVID-19 epidemic and in the later half of 2022, however, have considerably changed from the draws made so far in 2023.
There have been several noticeable changes in how draws are done since the first Express Entry draw of this year on January 11. For instance, the draw on January 11 proceeded after an unanticipated six-second delay. According to IRCC, this was the result of an IT system error brought on by the implementation of NOC 2021.
Only one week later, on January 18, was the next draw. There was the same amount of ITAs issued as on January 11, but with a much lower CRS score.
The following draw, which took place as anticipated on February 1, was delayed by IRCC by two weeks. This draw, though, stood out since it wasn't an all-program draw. Only those candidates who had already been nominated under a Provincial Nominee Program were given ITAs. Since June 2022, IRCC had not held a PNP-only draw. All program drawings, which had been put on hold between January 2021 and July 2022 as a result of pandemic limitations and border closures, began again at this point.
The following day, on February 2, IRCC sent invitations to applicants for the FSWP, marking that draw as the most current. This was notable because, since Express Entry launched in 2015, there has never been an FSWP-only draw. One of the most well-known immigration routes under Fast Entry is the FSWP.
The immigration minister and IRCC have sole discretion over Express Entry draws. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act makes no provisions regarding the timing of draws, the number of applicants, or the minimum CRS cut-off score. The minister may decide that holding drawings on a daily or irregular basis is the best method for Canada to achieve its economic aims.
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