Canada issues invitations to 3,400 Express Entry candidates who want to apply for permanent residence

The Government of Canada distributed 3,400 invitations amongst Express Entry candidates who want to apply for Canadian permanent residence. The draw was organized on 22nd January. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score in the draw was 471. It marked a reduction of 2 points from the minimum score that was recorded in the previous Express Entry draw that was organized on 8th January. The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) worked to issue a total of 6,800 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) since the beginning of 2020.

The Express Entry system has been pretty effective in helping candidates move forward in their journey for permanent residence. Canada has set higher admissions targets for the years 2020 and 2021. This means that the various programs managed by the Express Entry system have to perform even harder. The fixed target for new permanent resident admissions via the three federal high-skilled programs is expected to rise to 85,800 in 2020 and 88,800 in 2021.

The Express Entry system has steadily become Canada’s primary source for providing skilled foreign workers. The system was inaugurated in 2015 and is responsible for managing the pool of candidates for the country’s federal high-skilled immigration programs like the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Trades Class.

Eligible candidates under each program are given a score based on Express Entry’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which takes certain factors into account like age, skilled work experience, education, and language proficiency. A job offer is not mandatory to be considered under the Express Entry system, but the CRS does give additional points to candidates having a job offer. Nine Canadian provinces, along with two territories, have “enhanced” PNP streams that are associated with the Express Entry system.