The first Express Entry draw of the year has seen invites sent out by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
In a general draw, the department asked 1,510 applicants to apply.
A minimum score of 546 on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) was necessary.
Candidates from all Express Entry administered programs, such as the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), are taken into consideration for a general draw. Targeted human capital traits and jobs are not mentioned.
The dates of the last four drawings were December 18–21. A minimum CRS of 524 was required for 1,325 applicants to be accepted to the all-program draw on December 18.
Candidates who met the requirements for category-based selection in any one of the six available categories were eligible for the remaining three draws. A category-based draw on December 19th invited 1,000 applicants for trades jobs with a minimum CRS of 425, while a draw on December 20th invited 670 candidates for transport occupations. A minimum CRS score of 435 was required of candidates.
400 applicants for positions in agriculture and agri-food were given ITAs on December 21. A minimum of 386 on the CRS was necessary.
Between December 6 and 8, IRCC also conducted three drawings. All program candidates were invited to the December 6 draw, candidates who met the requirements for French language competency were invited to the December 7 draw, and candidates in STEM fields were invited to the December 8 draw.
In December, there were seven Express Entry drawings in total. In all of 2023, this is the most number of Express Entry drawings in a single month. It came after a six-week break that started on October 26 and ended with the draw on December 6. A cause for the pause was not confirmed by the IRCC.
Summary of Express Entry draws since June 2023
| Date | Draw Type | Number of ITAs | Minimum CRS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 19 | Trade occupations | 1,000 | 425 |
| Dec 18 | All-program | 1,325 | 542 |
| Dec 8 | STEM occupations | 5,900 | 481 |
| Dec 7 | French language proficiency | 1,000 | 470 |
| Dec 6 | All-program | 4,750 | 561 |
| Oct 26 | Healthcare occupations | 3,600 | 431 |
| Oct 25 | French language proficiency | 300 | 486 |
| Oct 24 | PNP-only | 1,548 | 776 |
| Oct 10 | All-program | 3,725 | 500 |
| Sept 28 | Agriculture and agri-food occupations | 600 | 354 |
| Sept 27 | French language proficiency | 500 | 472 |
| Sept 26 | All-program | 3,000 | 504 |
| Sept 20 | Transport occupations | 1,000 | 435 |
| Sept 19 | All-program | 3,200 | 531 |
| Aug 15 | All-program | 4,300 | 496 |
| Aug 3 | Trade occupations | 1,500 | 388 |
| Aug 2 | French language proficiency | 800 | 435 |
| Aug 1 | All-program | 2,000 | 517 |
| July 12 | French language proficiency | 3,800 | 375 |
| July 11 | All-program | 800 | 505 |
| July 7 | French language proficiency | 2,300 | 439 |
| July 6 | Healthcare occupations | 1500 | 463 |
| July 5 | STEM occupations | 500 | 486 |
| July 4 | All-program | 700 | 511 |
| June 28 | Healthcare occupations | 500 | 476 |
| June 27 | All-program | 4,300 | 486 |
| June 8 | All-program | 4,800 | 486 |
How will 2024’s Express Entry look?
According to the Immigration Levels Plan 2024–2026, 110,000 new permanent residents will be admitted to Canada via Express Entry in 2024.
The IRCC projected 82,880 Express Entry applicants in 2023; this is a surge. However, even the high goal does not guarantee that every applicant invited in 2024 will be accepted before the year ends. Some will come in 2025, particularly those who are invited later in the year. This is due to the six-month service standard that the IRCC has for making a final decision on applicants for permanent residence through Express Entry.
In 2023, the IRCC granted over 100,000 ITAs to applicants for Express Entry.
What is the purpose of Express Entry?
The Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class are managed using the application management system Express Entry.
The Comprehensive Ranking System is used by these three economic immigration programs to rate applicants according to their human capital qualities. Language proficiency, education, job history, occupation, and age are a few examples of these. Candidates are rated against each other and given a score for each attribute.
In a category-based selection draw that focuses on a particular feature, applicants for Express Entry in any of the three programs may also be awarded ITAs. Six categories make up this sort of draw, which debuted in May 2023:
- medical care;
- STEM occupations;
- Exchanges;
- Move;
- agri-food and agriculture; and
- Fluency in French
The candidates with the highest CRS score are most likely to get an ITA in a forthcoming Express Entry draw, regardless of the program or kind of draw.
