Express Entry Draws 

The government of Canada held consecutive Express Entry draws on May 14 and May 15, inviting a total of 3900 candidates to apply for permanent residence. The invitation rounds took place only 24 hours apart from one another. 

Express Entry is a popular immigration method for skilled foreign workers. It manages the profiles of Economic Workers from three Canadian immigration programs. These programs are the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Workers Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Class.

The May 14 draw had 529 invitations sent exclusively to candidates who also participated in the Provincial Nomination Program. The minimum CRS score required for this draw was 718 points. Although this seems high, Provincial Nominations award recipients with an additional 600 points towards their initial scores.

Meanwhile, the Express Entry draw held May 15 invited 3,371 candidates, all exclusively from the Canadian Experience Class. The minimum CRS score required for the draw was the lowest it’s been since January 2019, with the cut-off being 447 points. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Canada, Express Entry has only extended permanent residence invitations to Canadian Experience Class and Provincial Nomination Program candidates. Supposedly this is due to the fact that candidates from these programs are more likely to currently reside in Canada.