Express Entry
IRCC Issued Invitations to 5,500 Express Entry Candidates in The Second Draw of 2023
Canada held the second Express Entry draw of the year. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship sent out invitations to 5,500 candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 490. The list included all the eligible candidates from The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).
On January 11, the IRCC had just completed a draw for which it had also invited 5,500 applicants. The CRS cut-off score decreased by 17 points between draws, falling to 507 for last week’s draw.
However, the fact that draws has occurred in consecutive weeks to begin 2023 suggests that IRCC wants to bring in more skilled immigrants this year. The 11,000 ITAs already granted surpass the previous record of 10,000 ITAs issued in January 2021 to mark Express Entry’s fastest start since 2015. The fastest service standard among all of Canada’s more than 100 different skilled immigration channels is offered by Express Entry, which grants permanent residence to the most qualified applicants in just six months.
Targeted Express Entry Draws Categories
The IRCC has been working to develop additional draw categories for candidates in Express Entry programs ever since Bill C-19 gained royal assent in June of last year. This is a significant change from the current practice of selecting applicants purely on the basis of a high score inside the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
In its most recent action, the IRCC finished a round of public and stakeholder consultations to better understand Canada’s most pressing talent gaps. All applicants must be qualified to submit an application through the current Express Entry application management system, regardless of category.
Possible Categories For Targeted Draws
The categories will be determined by the characteristics of the candidates, including their profession, work history, level of education, and language proficiency. The immigration minister claims that welcoming applicants who are better qualified to address critical labor shortages in Canada will help the country’s economic interests. Draws may be conducted to select Express Entry applicants with particular work experience from an in-demand sector.
Additionally, the IRCC will develop categories to assist foreign students in Canada in applying for permanent residency through Express Entry. For similar reasons, temporary residents are being treated as a separate group. It has also been discovered that people with prior short-term work experience in Canada integrate more successfully into the labor market and are better able to transfer their talents when necessary. As the government works to fulfill its duty to strengthen Canada’s bilingual character, skilled immigrants who speak French may also have an advantage in acquiring an ITA.
