New Express Entry draw invites more than 500 candidates

Canada aims to increase the number of newcomers in the country this year in order to make up for the immigration losses suffered due to the pandemic. Express Entry draws are being held regularly by Canada so that more skilled and eligible candidates get the opportunity to settle down in the country. 

On August 4, Canada organized an Express Entry draw targeted towards Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates. This means that the draw issued invitations to apply to Express Entry candidates with provincial nominations. The purpose of a provincial nomination is to award 600 extra CRS points to candidates, so they have a boosted score that will increase their chances of settling in the province of their choice.

Details of the draw

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued a total of 512 invitations to eligible candidates. The required score for candidates to get an invitation was 760. IRCC set a higher score cutoff because PNP candidates have the advantage of the extra 600 points that are added automatically to their score when they get the nomination.

IRCC has been recently focusing on PNP-exclusive draws because the candidates are likely to already be in the country. This means that they will not have to undertake international travel and abide by the restrictions. Moreover, the PNP helps to boost individual provincial markets.

The tie-break rule might not be applicable for every Express Entry draw, but IRCC still provides a cutoff time as part of its administrative requirement duties. Candidates meeting the score requirements received invitations only if they completed their Express Entry profile prior to March 5, 2021, at 22:38:31 UTC.