On November 18, 2020, Canada conducted the biggest Express Entry draw to date. In this draw, a total of 5,000 invites were issued, taking immigration applicants one step closer to permanent Canadian residency.
A minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 472 was required for candidates to obtain an invitation in this round.
Canada’s Express Entry system handles the candidate profiles of the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) for three of Canada’s major economic-class immigration programs.
A score dependent on the CRS is awarded to candidates in the above-mentioned programs, as well as certain Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). Human capital factors such as age, education, work experience, and language proficiency are responsible for the final CRS score. An Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residency in an Express Entry invitation round is issued to the highest-scoring candidates.
The tie-breaking rule is implemented by the IRCC in the event of a tie between candidates. And for this draw, candidates who had a CRS score of 472 or more, had to submit their Express Entry profile before October 27 at 06:18:11 UTC to secure an Invitation to Apply(ITA).
The CRS requirement for all programs held this year usually hovered above 470 points. On August 6, the Federal Skilled Trades Program-only draw welcomed trade workers with a CRS of 415, whereas previous Canadian Experience Class-only draws witness the minimum CRS score in the 440s. PNP-only drawings have higher requirements, but an extra 600 CRS points are directly awarded to Express Entry candidates who manage to obtain a provincial nomination. For Express Entry candidates who have a lower CRS score, PNPs provide alternate paths to Canadian permanent residency.
This draw takes to 92,350 the total amount of ITAs issued in 2020. This year is shaping up to be a new Express Entry record-breaking year as the amount of ITAs issued to date is the highest that has ever been.
The higher rate of ITAs is in line with the assurance of the Canadian government to accept over 400,000 new immigrating candidates in 2021, most of them processing their visa applications through the Express Entry system.
