Canada held two consecutive, record-breaking Express Entry draws on January 18th. These draws included candidates from all Express Entry programs such as Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades. 5,500 candidates were given an Invitation to Apply (ITA) with a minimum score threshold of 490 points on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The cut-off was initially stated as 507 points; however, it was later corrected to 490 points.
What to expect?
IRCC, or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, has recently held meetings with the public and other stakeholders to adapt the Express Entry system, which allows skilled workers to apply for permanent residence, to better match the country's economic needs and labor shortages. They plan to do this by creating categories within Express Entry that target certain attributes, such as education, work experience, and language proficiency, instead of just relying on a high score within the Comprehensive Ranking System. They are considering selecting candidates based on their occupation, sectors with labor shortages, whether they have lived in Canada as a student or temporary worker, and their proficiency in French. The meetings have recently ended and the results have not been released yet, but it's expected that these targeted draws will begin in the spring.
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