Canada Express Entry Draw Records Low CRS Requirement

After the immigration numbers took a hit last year due to the pandemic, Canada has decided to invite more immigrants this year to make up for it. The country plans to grant admission to 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021. Even though the travel restrictions are still valid in many cases, Canada is well on its way to achieving its target.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been organizing draws consistently to invite people who are already living in Canada and will not have to travel upon receiving the invitation. IRCC is holding larger draws and inviting hundreds of candidates at a time. Most people registered in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) have a high chance of already being in the country.

Details of the draw

Canada held an out-of-the-ordinary draw on May 20 to invite 1,842 skilled candidates who have the potential to fulfill the eligibility requirements of permanent residence via the Canadian Experience Class. Not only was this draw absolutely unpredictable, but also the required Comprehensive Ranking Score was just 397. This was the second-lowest that the CRS requirement has dipped since the beginning of the year.

IRCC applies the tie-break rule to every draw regardless of whether there was an actual tie or not. This is an administrative rule. The candidates who satisfied the minimum score received invitations only if they had registered their Express Entry profile prior to April 24, 2021, at 12:09:24 UTC. CEC candidates tend to have lower CRS requirements than PNP candidates who already receive an extra 600 points.