Canada issues invitations to 3,300 CEC candidates

Canada is continuing their new technique of holding a CEC-specific draw right after a PNP draw.

On August 20, Canada organized an Express Entry round of invitations. It was the second draw to be held in two days, and the 161st draw to be organized by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Details of the draw

A total of 3,300 candidates belonging to the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) received invitations. It was mandatory for the candidates to have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 454. The candidates who scored 454 or above received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence.

This CRS cut-off score was higher than the last CEC-specific draw by nine points. This increase in the minimum points can be attributed to the higher number of candidates who have been entering the pool over the past month after Canada organized an all-program draw on August 5.

Once the pandemic forced Canada to close its borders, IRCC decided to organize these program-specific draws.

Why does the Express Entry play an important role?

Express Entry is utilized by the federal government to handle applications for the main economic-class programs in the country, namely the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

Some Canadian provinces have their own provincial programs that work alongside the Express Entry system. Candidates who are registered in the system are assigned ranks on the basis of several human capital factors like age, education, language proficiency, and work experience. In certain cases, the date and time when the Express Entry profile was first created can also be considered a ranking factor, so you should be mindful.

With this draw, the total number of invitations that have been issued by Canada in 2020 comes to 65,750.