Canada issues invitations to provincial nominees during the latest Express Entry draw

Canada is actively trying to reduce the damage rendered to the immigration system by the pandemic by organizing Express Entry draws and processing applications diligently. 2020 has seen the country issue a total of 26,618 invitations to Express Entry candidates so far.

Recently, Canada organized another draw to issue Express Entry invitations for candidates who have managed to secure provincial nominations. The IRCC or the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada distributed 118 invitations among Express Entry candidates on 15th April.

The candidates who were invited had a minimum CRS score of 808. Since all the candidates had provincial nominations to their name, it meant that 600 additional points were added to their overall score.  Their score, without the provincial nomination, would have had to be a minimum of 208.

Why does the CRS matter?

The CRS or the Comprehensive Ranking System assigns scores to candidates on the basis of many human capital factors like work experience, age, education qualifications, and language proficiency. This is done in order to find out which Express Entry candidates have the necessary qualities for succeeding in the Canadian labour market.

The candidates with the highest scores can then be invited into the country via regular Express Entry draws. After the government imposed coronavirus measures, Canada has hosted Express Entry draws aimed towards Canadian Experience Class candidates and provincial nominees.

This means that Express Entry candidates who had a CRS score of 208 based on human capital characteristics and a provincial nomination are the ones who got an Invitation to Apply (ITA) during this draw. They will now be able to apply for permanent residence.

The Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) grant permission to the Canadian provinces to choose individuals who will be able to contribute to their regional labor market and issue them nominations. Many Canadian provinces have their PNPs combined with the Express Entry system.