Lowest CRS scores for 2020 in latest Express Entry draws
The Government of Canada finished off the month of April and started fresh in May with two new Express Entry draws. A total of 3,900 immigration candidates received invitations to apply (ITAs) for Canadian permanent residence.
Canada’s Express Entry system is a popular route for skilled workers to obtain permanent residence. It invites economic class workers from three skilled worker immigration streams. These streams were the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class, and the Federal Skilled Worker Class.
Express Entry chooses its candidates based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score attached to their profiles. The score awards points based on factors such as language skills (in French or English), work history, education, among other factors. Each Express Entry draw will have a minimum amount of points required for candidates to be chosen.
The first of these two draws took place on April 29, and it saw 589 candidates invited with a CRS score of 692 points or more. The skilled workers invited in this draw were from the Canadian Experience Class stream. What’s more, they were all previous recipients of provincial nominations. Since provincial nominations award 600 points to an existing CRS score, the candidates only needed to have at least 92 basic human capital points. It is also worth noting that this was the lowest ever CRS score requirement for any provincial nomination program (PNP) exclusive draw.
The second draw was held on May 1 and distributed 3,311 invitations to candidates from all categories. The minimum score required for the draw was 452 points, which is the lowest Express Entry requirement so far this year.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has set a goal to distribute ITAs through Express Entry by the end of 2020. So far this year, 34,300 ITAs have been issued through Express Entry.
Despite issues with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada is continuing to issue ITAs through Express Entry. This demonstrates that the Canadian government is still looking out for immigrants seeking permanent residence, and aims to help immigration processes continue even if at a slower pace.
