Express Entry
The Month of March Was a Historic One For Express Entry, Reached a New Milestone
In March 2023, Express Entry reached four significant milestones, including issuing the most Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in a single all-program draw since 2015.
According to the Immigration Levels Strategy 2023–2025, Canada plans to accept at least 82,000 new immigrants through Express Entry over the next three years. Using Express Entry, Canada’s immigration system reached significant landmarks on the way to achieving this objective in the month of March.
In the blog further, we will take you through these notable events.
A Record Number of ITAs in a Month in Over Two Years
The amount of ITAs issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in March was the highest monthly total since February 2021. This number also makes March 2023 the second-largest Express Entry month since the program’s launch eight years ago, with a total of 21,667 ITAs awarded over four draws throughout March.
The Largest Express Entry All-Program Draw Ever
This past month, IRCC surpassed a record set in January by holding the largest all-program draw in Express Entry history. When 7,000 people were encouraged to submit applications for PR in Canada, this was accomplished on March 15.
In Two Weeks, 21,000 ITAs Were Issued
As a result of the aforementioned milestone, the IRCC granted 21,000 ITAs during a two-week period. On 15 March 23, IRCC invited 7,000 immigration applicants to apply for Canadian PR in an all-program draw. Eight days later, on March 23, an extra 7,000 applicants received ITAs from Canada’s immigration service after a surprise all-program draw that had been held earlier that day. Lastly, 7,000 additional applicants for economic immigration were asked to apply for Canadian permanent resident status six days after that draw.
CRS Scores at The End of March Fell to Their Lowest Level in 27 Months
High Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores are a requirement for Express Entry success. This is due to the fact that IRCC will only send ITAs to applicants who have CRS scores that are higher than the cut-off score for a certain draw during that round of invitations.
The fact that CRS scores at the end of March fell to their lowest level (across all program draws) since December 2020 is noteworthy. The cut-off CRS score was 484 on March 23 and 490 on March 15, however, it dropped to 481 as of March 29. Having said that, it is anticipated that the IRCC would start conducting targeted drawings during the second quarter of this year. Targeted Express Entry drawings will enable IRCC to award ITAs to immigration candidates based on particular variables such as occupation, educational background, language abilities, etc., while the exact start point of these draws is still to be defined. These draws are anticipated to help Canada more effectively handle particular labour market needs, enabling all provinces and territories to boost the impact of immigration into this nation.
