Canada Issues New PNP-Specific Express Entry Draw

Canada organized its latest Express Entry draw on March 8 and issued 671 invitations to candidates. The selected candidates will now have the chance to apply for permanent residence in Canada.  The provinces, in return, provide them with a nomination which boosts their Express Entry application and guarantees them a permanent residence invitation.

The candidates who manage to secure provincial nominations automatically go ahead in the race because they are awarded 600 extra points which is added to their existing CRS score. 

Details of the draw

During this Express Entry draw, Canada focused on inviting candidates who had managed to get a minimum CRS score of 739. While it seems that the score requirement was higher this time around, it was not the case because all the chosen candidates had already received provincial nominations via a Provincial Nominee Program or a PNP.

If the 600 extra points are not taken into account, the candidates were required to have a CRS score of just 139 in order to receive an invitation. All the people who received invitations during this draw had submitted their profiles in the Express Entry pool prior to February 16, 2021, 19:10:25 UTC.

Canada has decided to invite a larger number of immigrants this year in order to make up for the low numbers of 2020. The country aims to invite 401,00 newcomers this year.

Canada Express Entry system relies on a system to score the candidates based on several factors like their age, education, work experience and language proficiency. While a job offer is not mandatory for Express Entry candidates, it does lead to some extra points.

The candidates with the highest scores usually get an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence. After the submission of the application, candidates will have to wait for IRCC to make its final decision.