Canada issues 600 invitations to candidates under Express Entry so they can apply for permanent residence

Canada recently organized its 160th Express Entry draw to invite more candidates who will be able to apply for permanent residence. The immigration candidates who managed to secure an invitation on August 19 will now be able to apply for permanent residence. The new Express Entry round distributed 600 invitations among candidates who have a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 771.

The candidates who were invited required a provincial nomination from any of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) in order to qualify for an invitation. The PNP recipients are awarded 600 CRS points automatically, and it is added to their base human capital score. This draw was the third one in August to issue Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates who want to secure Canadian permanent residence.

On August 6, Express Entry candidates also received 250 ITAs through the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Candidates needed to have a minimum CRS score of 415 in order to be selected during that rare draw. Canada also distributed 3,900 ITAs on August 5 among candidates with scores of 476 during an all-program draw.

How do the draws work?

Canada began this pattern of draws when the coronavirus lockdown was enforced on March 18.

Express Entry is the backbone of the Canadian immigration system that is in charge of the pool of candidates belonging to the country’s three primary economic immigration classes — the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP),  the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP),  and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Candidates with the highest ranks in the Express Entry pool are given ITAs during the draws.

The August 19 draw was the 27th draw this year, and it brought the total number of ITAs issued in 2020 to 62,450. While the coronavirus pandemic has posed many problems to immigration, the Canadian government is still trying to meet the immigration targets. The minimum score recorded on August 19 was 771, and it was the highest CRS score cutoff of 2020.