Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada(IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in the latest Express Entry draw.
The department invited 5,000 candidates in a Canadian Expereince Class (CEC)- only draw.
To be considered, candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 510.
Today’s draw was the ninth of an already busy month for Express Entry. In total, IRCC has issued 25,125 ITAs throughout July.
Draws this month have been alternating between program-specific draws, such as the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and category-based selection draws.
In category-based draws, most ITAs have gone to candidates who demonstrate French language proficiency, totalling 5,000 ITAs over two draws. IRCC also issued 3,750 ITAs to healthcare candidates on July 5 and 1,800 to candidates in trade occupations on July 4.
A high number of ITAs have also been issued in program-specific draws. As of July 31, IRCC has invited 11,300 Canadian Experience Class candidates and 3,275 PNP candidates. Candidates in both programs often already live and work in Canada as temporary residents. The return to program-specific draws on May 30 after a full year without them aligns with IRCC’s previously announced intention to hold more domestic draws.
In March this year, the department introduced a new goal of reducing and stabilizing the number of temporary residents in Canada while also meeting its permanent resident targets as outlined in the Immigration Levels Plan.
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry is an application management system for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).
These are three of Canada’s most prominent economic immigration programs. They all use the Comprehensive Ranking System to evaluate candidates based on their human capital factors such as age, education, occupation, language abilities and work experience.
Each factor is assigned a score and taken together they make up a candidate’s overall CRS score. Based on these human capital factors they are deemed more likely to contribute to Canada’s workforce and strengthen its demographics. The higher the score, the more likely they are to receive an ITA.
Express Entry is aimed to facilitate faster processing for high skilled candidates. The department has a published service standard of six months for processing Express Entry applications.
What is category-based selection?
To further target candidates with the skills or attributes Canada needs, IRCC introduced category-based selection draws in May 2023. The categories were chosen following consultations with external and internal stakeholders. 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
These categories will remain in place throughout the remainder of 2024 but may change next year.
