Express Entry sends 3,900 ITAs in late March  

In the weeks since the Covid 19 outbreak in Canada, the government held two small Express Entry draws on March 18 and March 23. A total of 3,900 invitations to apply (ITAs) for Canadian permanent residence were sent out between these two draws.  

The March 18th draw saw a total of 668 ITAs distributed, and the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score for the draw was 720. This minimum score was quite high, however, all candidates selected during this draw had Provincial nominations. These nominations are given by Provincial Nomination Programs, which award 600 points to an Express Entry candidate’s CRS score. 

As for the March 23rd draw, there were 3,232 ITAs sent to immigration candidates looking to obtain permanent residence. The minimum requirements for the CRS scores in this draw was 467 points. In the case of this draw, the candidates selected were all registered under the Canadian Experience Class, which is one of Canada’s economic class immigration programs. 

The Express Entry program draws the profiles of economic class immigration candidates from three of Canada’s Federal High Skilled economic immigration programs. These include the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class and the Federal Skilled Worker Class. The profiles from these programs are ranked based on the Comprehensive Ranking System score of the client. Those with highest scores are selected during Express Entry draws. CRS scores are determined based on factors such as age, education, work history, language skills, etc.

As of these most recent draws, Canada has now distributed 22,600 ITAs through Express Entry in 2020. The government’s overall ITA distribution goal for 2020 341,000.