IRCC has just invited candidates in the eighth Express Entry All Program Draw of 2023.
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) awarded invitations to apply (ITAs) to 7,000 individuals in an all-program draw, with a minimum CRS score of 484. Candidates from the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) are taken into consideration in an all-program draw.
This draw’s size is equal to that of the largest-ever all-program draw, held on March 15 and attended by 7,000 additional applicants. Applicants needed at least 490 CRS to be eligible for that draw. The IRCC invited 5,500 candidates for the January 18 all-program draw, setting the previous record high.
Because this is the second week in a row that IRCC has invited Express Entry applicants, the draw is unexpected. Express Entry draws typically occur every two weeks. The 7,000 ITAs make up the second-biggest Express Entry draw size ever after only the record-breaking CEC-only draw that took place in February 2021. It is also tied for the largest all-program draw ever.
All of the draws took place between July and November 2022 and only 1,500 candidates were invited to the smallest draw on July 6. It was the first all-program draw following an 18-month delay due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Express Entry draws early in 2023 and focuses mostly on candidates in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) (PNP). There have been four PNP-only Express Entry drawings so far this year, most recently on March 1, when 667 PNP hopefuls were invited. Prior to this, on February 2, there were three additional PNP drawings and one that was only for Federal Skilled Worker Program applicants. However, it seems that IRCC is now going back to its standard practice of taking into account every applicant in the Fast Entry pool.
Immigration ministries support the PNP levels strategy for the long term
Provincial immigration ministers recently gathered as part of the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI) to talk about shared concerns and strategies for bringing in and keeping more immigrants.
The meeting’s adoption of the first, multi-year provincial immigration plan was one of its outcomes. This will function similarly to the three-year immigration targets set forth by the federal Immigration Levels Plan. The provinces may now plan for housing and infrastructure needs to better accommodate and keep newcomers because they will know their distribution of provincial nominations in advance.
During the conference, some provinces said that the PNP allocations for this year would be higher than those for 2022. For example, Canada’s largest province, Ontario, will see its allotment jump to 18,000 places in 2025. Saskatchewan will receive an allocation of 7,250 candidates in 2023, rising to 8,500 in 2025, while Manitoba’s allotment for 2023 has increased by 3,175 places over 2022 to 9,500.
Alberta will also experience a notable boost in allocations for 2023, going from 6,500 spaces in 2022 to 9,750 places in 2023. Like Saskatchewan, allocations will continue to climb over the next two years and go as high as 10,849 by 2025. Data on the anticipated number of PNP allocations for other provinces have not yet been made public.
Express Entry candidates can strengthen their chances of acquiring an ITA by securing a provincial nomination (a procedure called an enhanced nomination) (a process known as an enhanced nomination). An applicant’s CRS score is immediately increased by 600 points when they are nominated by a province as an Express Entry candidate, effectively ensuring that they will receive an ITA for permanent residence.
Candidates for economic immigration who are not part of Express Entry can nonetheless receive a nomination from a province (base nomination). Also, it might help a candidate’s application for citizenship.
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry is an application management system for three economic immigration categories; the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
With these initiatives, IRCC is able to choose applicants for permanent residency based on the Comprehensive Ranking System’s determined cut-off score (CRS). All applicants in the Express Entry pool are ranked by the CRS, and the applicants with the highest scores are invited to apply (ITA). Candidates for the Provincial Nominee Program who are invited in a lottery are already Express Entry candidates.
An applicant has 60 days from the time they get an ITA to submit their application to IRCC. After reviewing the application, an IRCC officer will decide whether to approve the applicant.
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