Date: 24 July 2021
Canada’s immigration department invited candidates with at least a score of 357. Candidates needed to be eligible for the CEC in order to be invited. A total of 4,500 Express Entry candidates received invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence on July 22.
In the last CEC invitation round, 4,500 candidates were invited and the cutoff score was 369. This draw matches the second lowest score for a CEC draw, ever. The lowest was when the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited CEC candidates with scores of at >75 on February 13.
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry is a points-based system that manages immigration applications for the three Federal High Skilled programs, which include the:
- Canadian Experience Class
- Federal Skilled Worker Program
- Federal Skilled Trades Program
Some PNPs also use Express Entry to invite candidates to apply for a provincial nomination.
If you are eligible for an Express Entry-managed program, you will get a score based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS awards points based on skilled work experience, education, age, official language skills, and other factors.
The difference between PNP and CEC draws:
PNP and CEC draws have very drastic scoring requirements. PNP candidates automatically get 600 points added to their score, unlike CEC candidates. CEC candidates are not competing for invitations from other programs. As a result, IRCC takes more off the top allowing for cutoff scores to dip into the lower levels.
How the pandemic has affected draws?
Due to restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the IRCC has been holding only PNP- and Canadian Experience Class (CEC)-specific draws as the candidates invited are likely to already be living in Canada, and do not have to undergo travel and other procedures.
Canada set a target to welcome 401,000 new immigrants to Canada this year, according to its immigration levels plan. All this, provided that the number of cases of COVID-19 and its variants is kept at a minimum. So far, Canada has invited 94,304 Express Entry candidates to apply. Around 100,000 people are expected to come through the Express Entry system. This year, Canada has doubled the number of Express Entry candidates compared to last year.
This large number comes from the historic February 13 draw where IRCC invited every CEC-eligible candidate in the pool, a total of 27,332 people. 87% of those invited that day applied for permanent residence before the 90-day deadline, according to an IRCC email.
If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit or Migrate to Canada, talk to I Can Help Immigration Services, Canada’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company to get the best help you need
