Breaking Records: Canada Express Entry News Reveals Historic CRS-Cut Off
At just 375 points, the CRS score cut-off was record breakingly low in the latest Express Entry draws. According to Canada Express Entry news, if your profile is in the federal pool, and you have scored at least NCLC 7 in your French Language proficiency test, you just need 375 CRS points to get an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canada PR. This blog analyzes the latest Canada Express Entry news.
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The Highlights of 258th Express Entry Draw are:
- This was a category-based selection exclusively for the French Speaking category
- Till now, the French language proficiency category has the lowest CRS cut-off and issues the largest number of ITAs or Invitation to Apply.
- This CRS cut-off score plummeted to its lowest in two years. The last draw with a lower cut-off was announced on 22nd July, 2021. It was the 198th Express Entry draw exclusively for Canadian Experience Class (CEC), that issued 4500 ITAs to eligible applicants with a CRS score equal to or more than 357 points.
- This is the second French language proficiency based selection. The first Express Entry draw exclusively for Francophones was on July 7th 2023. The 256th round of invitations issued 2300 ITAs and the CRS cut-off was just 439 points.
- The ITAs issued in the latest draw are 1500 more than the last French language proficiency draw. At the same time, the CRS score off has decreased by 64 points
- This is the 5th category-based Express Entry draw. The first such draw was announced on 28th June 2023. It was exclusively for Healthcare occupations. The CRS score cut-off was 476 points, with 500 ITAs.
We all know that IRCC conducts Express Entry draws to invite eligible, skilled, foreign labour to apply for Canada PR. According to the latest updates in Canada Express Entry news, Express Entry draws will now be of three types:
- The All Program Draw
- The Program Specific Draw, and
- The Category-based Draw
The All Program Draw
An all program Express Entry draw is one that invites all eligible profiles in the federal pool who have a CRS score equal to or greater than the cut-off. In an all program Express Entry draw, applicants from all three programs-
- FSWP or Federal Skilled Worker Program
- CEC or Canadian Experience Class
- FSTP or Federal Skilled Trades Program
are invited to apply for Canada PR. The only factors that are considered in an all program draw are your CRS score, and your rank. For example, if the CRS cut-off in an all program draw is 400 and the number of ITAs issued are 2000, your rank must be within 2000, and your CRS score must be equal to or greater than 400 points to get an ITA.
Applicants in the Express Entry pool with a Provincial Nomination certificate are also eligible for the all program draw.
The Program Specific Draw
A program specific draw is one that issues ITAs only to those applicants who are eligible for a particular Express Entry program. Unlike an all program draw that issues ITAs to applicants from all three Express Entry programs, this draw is exclusively for selected pathways. For example, the 241st and 240th draws were program specific draws.
The 241st draw was exclusively for profiles with a Provincial Nominee Certification. It means that besides having a CRS score greater than or equal to the cut-off, you also have to have a provincial nomination to get an ITA in the draw. You will not get an ITA without provincial nomination even if your CRS score is higher than the cut-off. Similarly, the 240th program-specific draw was exclusively for Federal Skilled Workers. Thus, you will get an ITA in this draw only if you are eligible as a Federal Skilled Worker and your CRS score clears the cut-off.
The Category based draw
Launched earlier in June 2023, the category based draws are an attempt of the Canadian government to make Express Entry more sensitive to the Canadian labor market. Prior to their launch, Express Entry system was an extremely competitive immigration pathway that could not invite diverse skilled workers. In most cases, getting the highest CRS score was the only way to secure any chance of getting an ITA in the daws. The category-based selections completely change this. In these types of Express Entry draws, occupation, education and language proficiency are the main focus. This helps IRCC to invite skilled workers from various fields of healthcare, STEM, agriculture, transport, etc, and meet Canadian labor requirements accordingly. According to Canada Express Entry news, there are 6 fields proposed by IRCC for category-based draws.
The Categories are:-
- French-language proficiency- to boost francophone immigration outside the province of Quebec
- Healthcare occupations- to relieve the dire labor shortage in the Canadian healthcare sector
- STEM occupations
- Trade occupations
- Transport occupations
- Agriculture and agri-food occupations
Till now, IRCC has conducted five category-based draws. They have invited applicants from the STEM, healthcare, and french-language proficiency categories.
Canada Express Entry news has constantly announced draws in the month of July 2023. IRCC has conducted six draws in just a month, and has invited 9600 applicants in July itself. With the CRS score cut-off getting as low as 375, getting an ITA was never this easy. With the launch of category-based draws, the Express Entry system is no longer impossible or difficult.
You have a chance even if you belong to the occupations in agriculture, trade, and transport. All you have to do is create a profile with CICC authorized Talent Connected Worldwide, that gets you the highest CRS score, and get into the federal pool. Chances are, an ITA is waiting for you.
More draws are bound to be announced. We will constantly update this blog with the latest Canada Express Entry news and analysis.
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