EXPRESS ENTRY: Canada Welcomes 761 PNP Candidates
This year, Canada has held 19 separate Express Entry drawings for PNP applicants.
On September 29, Canada issued an invitation to 761 Express Entry applicants to apply for permanent residency.
Candidates who were invited had previously received nominations via the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which resulted in an automatic 600-point boost to their Express Entry score. Candidates needed a minimum score of 742 to be invited as a consequence of the award.
The IRCC invited 521 PNP candidates with scores of at least 732 in the previous PNP draw. The new draw is bigger, but it also has a higher score cutoff, implying that the Provincial Nominee Class pool comprises more high-scoring candidates.
TOTAL NUMBER OF ITAs ISSUED:
This year, the IRCC received a record number of Express Entry applications for permanent residence. Through the Express Entry method, IRCC will issue 107,350 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in 2020. With three months remaining in the year, it has already sent out over 108,000 invitations.
On February 13, the number of ITAs increased dramatically, when IRCC invited every single candidate in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) pool.
IRCC has held only CEC and PNP draws so far this year. As a result, the cutoffs for the minimal score have fluctuated. The minimum score is significantly greater whenever there is a PNP draw since the PNP applicants have all been awarded 600 points. Because invited candidates are not competing with others who are qualified for other programs, CEC draws are often smaller. Nevertheless, if the CEC draw is significantly lower, the score threshold may be raised because IRCC is cutting less off the top.
WHAT IS EXPRESS ENTRY?
The online Express Entry system manages applications for Canada’s most popular immigration programs. The Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, and Federal Skilled Trades Program are the three programs that utilize Express Entry. Candidates in the Express Entry pool for the PNP have already been accepted into one of these programs. They then requested for and were granted a nomination from a province, boosting their score by 600 points.
The Comprehensive Ranking Approach (CRS) is used by Express Entry to rank candidates’ profiles using a points-based system. Candidates who get the highest scores are given an Invitation to Apply (ITA) and can subsequently apply for permanent residency. The application is then reviewed and a decision is made by an IRCC officer. They will request biometrics and may schedule an interview or request other documentation. IRCC will issue a Confirmation of Permanent Residence if your application is approved. The landing process can then be completed by permanent residents who have been approved. If they are outside of Canada, they can take advantage of pre-arrival services to assist them in taking the first steps toward settling in.