In the new Express Entry draw held on September 18, Canada invited 3600 candidates to apply for permanent residence. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off score was 462, one point lower than the previous draw held on September 4, when the cut-off score was 463. With the latest draw, the total number of Invitations to Apply issued by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) so far this year has touched 63,400.
As in the previous draws, tie-break rule was applied in the September 18 draw as well, the time stamp given being August 29, 2019, at 07:57:13 UTC. It means the draw prioritized those candidates with a minimum score of 462, who submitted their profiles before the said date and time.
The CRS cut-off score coming down by one point may be attributed to the fact that the interval between the latest two draws was two weeks, which is normal. CRS cut-off score usually increases when the interval is longer than two weeks.
In the draws held in the second half of the year 2019, from June onwards till September, the CRS cut-off score range has remained between 457 and 465. Experts suggest that this can be because the total number of Express Entry profiles with CRS score within this range in the Express Entry pool happens to be almost equal to the number of invitations issued in each draw. These may include both new profiles as well as old profiles with improved CRS score.
As we are entering the final quarter of the year, those with lower CRS scores can still be hopeful as some of the lowest CRS cut-off scores in the history of Express Entry draws happened in the last quarter of the year, for example, 439 points in December 2018.
With IRCC having set a higher target for economic immigration as per the Canada Immigration Levels Plan for 2019-2021, it is also expected that the CRS scores may come down below 450 points. Canada plans to admit around 256,000 over the next three years through the three federal economic immigration programs- Federal Skilled Worker Class, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Trades Class, while another 200,000 or so new permanent residents to be admitted through Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs).
Minimum CRS requirements in the Express Entry draws held this year:
Date | Minimum CRS score | Number of ITAs issued |
---|---|---|
January 10, 2019 | 449 | 3900 |
January 23, 2019 | 443 | 3900 |
January 30, 2019 | 438 | 3350 |
February 20, 2019 | 457 | 3350 |
March 6. 2019 | 454 | 3350 |
March 20, 2019 | 452 | 3350 |
April 3, 2019 | 451 | 3350 |
April 17, 2019 | 451 | 3350 |
May 1, 2019 | 450 | 3350 |
May 15, 2019(Program-specific) | 332 | 500 |
May 29, 2019 | 470 | 3350 |
June 12, 2019 | 465 | 3350 |
June 26, 2019 | 462 | 3350 |
July 10, 2019 | 460 | 3600 |
July 24, 2019 | 459 | 3600 |
August 12, 2019 | 466 | 3600 |
August 20, 2019 | 457 | 3600 |
September 4, 2019 | 463 | 3600 |
September 18, 2019 | 462 | 3600 |
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