IRCC held Express Entry PNP-only draw making it the third of the year already. Invitations were sent to 667 applicants having a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 748 by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
After the outcomes of the PNP-only draw on February 15, this was the fourth program-specific draw of 2023. The PNP was the recipient of three of the program-specific draws, while the Federal Skilled Worker Program(FSWP) received one.
Due to border closures and restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic, all-program Express Entry drawings were put on hold for 18 months, from January 2021 to July 2022. After July, all 2022 draws were all-program.
Only two all-program draws, in which applicants from each of the three Express Entry administered programmes were invited based on their minimum CRS score, have been conducted by IRCC since the start of 2023. 5,000 applicants were invited to each of those drawings, which were placed on January 11 and January 18 one week apart.
The following draw, which was the first PNP-only draw since June 2022, came after IRCC had waited two weeks. The next day, IRCC conducted a second draw, inviting 3,300 applicants only from the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP). When Express Entry launched in 2015, IRCC has never conducted an FSWP-only draw before. One of the most well-known Express Entry programmes, the FSWP is open to candidates from outside who meet the requirements for work experience, language proficiency, and educational background.
The immigration minister and IRCC have sole discretion over Express Entry draws. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act makes no provisions regarding the timing of draws, the number of applicants, or the minimum CRS cut-off score.
IRCC releases a programme application tracker for Express Entry
Candidates for the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) will now be able to track their applications online, according to IRCC’s announcement on February 8. Candidates participating in provincial nominee programmes will also be affected (PNPs).
Clients will be able to follow the status of their application and keep up with any changes about any activities that could be necessary to keep their file moving thanks to these status trackers. According to data as of January 31, there were 66,214 PNP applicants and 47,868 Express Entry applicants waiting in line.
What is Express Entry (EE)?
The Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program(FSTP) are the three Canadian immigration programmes included in the Express Entry application management system. Candidates for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in the Express Entry pool are already qualified for at least one of these schemes.
The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which assigns points based on a candidate’s profile, is used to evaluate candidates for Express Entry programmes. The highest-scoring applicants will be given an Invitation to Apply (ITA), after which they can submit a permanent residency application.
The applicants then have 60 days to submit an application. An IRCC officer will assess an application once it has been submitted and determine whether to approve it or not. Upon approval, the applicant becomes a permanent resident of Canada and is free to relocate there.
