Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in the third Express Entry draw this week.
The department issued 1.800 ITAs in a category-based selection draw for candidates with French language proficiency.
Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 400 to be considered.
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Today’s minimum CRS score represent’s the one of the lowest scores of the year for any Express Entry draw. Yesterday’s program-specific draw for 6,300 Canadian Experience Class candidates also had the lowest score of any non-category based selection draw at 515.
Earlier this week IRCC also invited 1,391 candidates in a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)-only draw with a minimum CRS of 670. Before that, IRCC most recently invited 3,200 candidates in a category-based selected draw for French proficiency on July 8.
CRS scores for PNP-only Express Entry draws tend to be higher than average because Express Entry candidates who have been successfully nominated for the PNP automatically receive an additional 600 CRS points on top of their existing score. For example, an Express Entry candidate with a score of 300 that is successfully nominated will then have an overall CRS of 900.
So far this month IRCC has issued 19,161 ITAs over seven seperate draws. This has been the busiest month for Express Entry this year.
Summary of Express Entry draw results in 2024
| Date | Draw Type | Number of ITAs | Minimum CRS |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 30 | Provincial Nominee Program | 964 | 686 |
| July 18 | French language proficiency | 1,800 | 400 |
| July 17 | Canadian Experience Class | 6,300 | 515 |
| July 16 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,391 | 670 |
| July 8 | French proficiency | 3,200 | 420 |
| July 5 | Healthcare occupations | 3,750 | 445 |
| July 4 | Trade occupations | 1,800 | 436 |
| July 2 | Provincial Nominee Program | 920 | 739 |
| June 19 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,499 | 663 |
| May 31 | Canadian Experience Class | 3,000 | 522 |
| May 30 | Provincial Nominee Program | 2,985 | 676 |
| April 24 | French proficiency | 1,400 | 410 |
| April 23 | General | 2,095 | 529 |
| April 11 | STEM occupations | 4,500 | 491 |
| April 10 | General | 1,280 | 549 |
| March 26 | French language proficiency | 1,500 | 388 |
| March 25 | General | 1,980 | 524 |
| March 13 | Transport occupations | 975 | 430 |
| March 12 | General | 2,850 | 525 |
| February 29 | French language proficiency | 2,500 | 336 |
| February 28 | General | 1,470 | 534 |
| February 16 | Agriculture and agri-food occupations | 150 | 437 |
| February 14 | Healthcare occupations | 3,500 | 422 |
| February 13 | General | 1,490 | 535 |
| February 1 | French language proficiency | 7,000 | 365 |
| January 31 | General | 730 | 541 |
| January 23 | General | 1,040 | 543 |
| January 10 | General | 1,510 | 546 |
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry is an application management system for three economic immigration programs in Canada: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). Each program is a pathway to permanent residency in Canada.
These programs use the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to evaluate immigration candidates based on human capital factors such as occupation, age, education, language ability and work experience. Each factor receives a score, and the total creates a candidate’s CRS score.
The system was introduced in 2015 as a means for IRCC to speed up processing time for successful applicants. The department has a published service standard of six months for these applications.
What is category-based selection?
Category-based selection was launched in 2023 as a way for IRCC to further target the Express Entry candidates who are the most likely to help Canada fill urgent gaps in it’s workforce, or strengthen a demographic.
To that end, the department introduced six possible categories in 2023 and earlier this year announced that they would remain in place into 2025. They are:
- Healthcare occupations
- Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
- Trades occupations, such as carpenters, plumbers, and contractors
- Transport occupations
- Agriculture and agri-food occupations
- French-language proficiency
Draws for this category are not program-specific and permanent resident applicants must be in the Express Entry application pool to be eligible.
