Express Entry: During the epidemic, the second-lowest CRS for a PNP draw

Canada has already conducted five Express Entry drawings in a row aimed at PNP class candidates

 On November 10, 775 Express Entry candidates were invited to apply for permanent residency.

All of the candidates that were invited had already been nominated through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The score cut-off was 685 since provincial nominees are automatically given a 600-point prize. The lowest-scoring nominee would have received only 85 points if he or she had not been nominated.

PNP candidates have recently been drawn only from the Express Entry pool by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). IRCC invited 888 applicants with a minimum score of 744 in the last draw.

Since IRCC began performing PNP-only draws in March 2020, today’s draw had the second-lowest cut-off rating in this category. In March 2021, the lowest score required for a PNP draw was met.

Why only PNP draws?

IRCC has been emphasizing accepting immigrants who have previously arrived in the nation since the beginning of the pandemic. When the Government of Canada closed its borders, it also shut the door on people who had been granted permanent residency outside of the country.

Between March 2020 and June 2021, the limitations prohibiting confirmed permanent residents from landing remained in place. IRCC most frequently hosted Express Entry drawings during this time, inviting PNP and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates. They staged all-program draws in 2020, which included candidates for the Foreign Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Foreign Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) (although FSTP candidates got their own draw in August 2020, since their scores tend to be lower than other programs).

IRCC will only hold Express Entry draws for PNP and CEC applicants starting in January 2021. While most CEC candidates are already in Canada, PNP candidates have proven to a Canadian province or territory that their immigration would assist the region economically.

IRCC has only encouraged PNP applicants to apply for PR in the last five Express Entry drawings. If IRCC did not invite these individuals, provinces and territories would be unable to reach their immigration ambitions, which typically go hand in hand with economic and demographic growth strategies.

IRCC increased CEC drawings in the summer, inviting a record-breaking 6,000 people at a time to match the immigration department’s revised target of admitting 141,000 CEC candidates in 2021. According to an internal memo obtained by CIC News through an information access request, invitations made after July are unlikely to be processed by the end of the year.

This figure is significantly higher than the immigration levels program, which states that IRCC will accept at least 108,500 immigrants using the Express Entry system in 2021. IRCC has already welcomed more than it needs to reach this year’s objective, despite the fact that not everyone who accepts an invitation will be granted permanent status. Furthermore, anyone who is invited to this draw, as well as the remainder of the year’s draws, should expect their applications to be completed in the New Year.

Immigration Canada now plans to accept 110,500 Express Entry applicants in 2022. However, whenever the new visa targets are published, this could alter.

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is the application management system for the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program, which are Canada’s three most popular immigration programmes. In the Express Entry pool, PNP candidates already have passed for one of these programmes.

Express Entry ranks candidates’ profiles using a points-based mechanism known as the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Candidates with the highest scores receive an Offer to Seek (ITA), which they can use to apply for PR.

The application is then reviewed by an IRCC officer, who makes a decision. They will require biometrics and perhaps schedule an interview or request other documentation.

IRCC issues a Confirmation of Permanent Residence if the application is approved (COPR). Permanent residents who have been approved can then finish the landing process. 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.

Who was invited?

The following is a hypothetical scenario involving someone who got an ITA in the new Express Entry draw.

Khaled and Mona are 34 and 31 years old, respectively. They both have bachelor’s degrees and took the IELTS test, scoring an 8 in hearing and a 7 in reading, speaking, and writing. Mona has worked as a software engineer for the previous three years, while Khaled has worked in human resources for the previous four. Mona was the primary applicant in the Express Entry pool, with a CRS score of 421. Mona was later nominated by the Province of Ontario for a provincial position. Mona’s CRS score rose to 1,021 in the new Express Entry lottery, and she was invited to apply for permanent residence.