CRS requirement dips during latest Express Entry draw

On December 23, Canada held its final Express Entry of the year. While 2020 has been anything but easy for immigration, Canada has still managed to put up impressive numbers on the board. With a total of 107,350 invitations distributed among Express Entry candidates, Canada is ending the year on a positive note.

Another 5000 eligible candidates received invitations on December 23. The minimum CRS score required by candidates to qualify for an invitation was 468. This cutoff score was a little lower than the last two Express Entry rounds. Candidates required a score of 469 or more for the draw on December 9. The candidates with a CRS score of 468 or more had to have submitted their profile in the Express Entry pool prior to 13:39:44 UTC, June 4, 2020 to qualify for an invitation.

Express Entry in 2020

After the pandemic forced Canada to enforce strict travel restrictions, IRCC decided to hold program-specific draws for a while. However, the situation has improved since then and the Government of Canada is now trying to resume the processing for other programs. Since there was a dip in the number of permanent residents invited this year, Canada is now trying to catch up and invite more people. The December 23 draw was the fourth consecutive round to distribute 5000 invitations for permanent residence. The number of ITAs distributed in all-program draws has been on the rise since September 2.

2020 is the first since the inception of the Express Entry system that the number of ITAs issued has gone over 100,000. 2021 is set to be yet another big year for Express Entry.