Canada holds exclusive Express Entry draw for provincial nominees

In the latest Express Entry draw held on March 18, Canada invited 668 candidates who have received provincial nomination. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off score for the draw was 720. Though the cut-off score is much higher compared to the cut-off score for the previous draw, which was 471, it is low for provincial nominees as they obtain 600 additional CRS score points along with the nomination.
Tie-break rule was applied in the latest draw too, the time stamp given being March 19, 2020, at 02:04:06 UTC. It means the draw prioritized those candidates who had submitted their Express Entry profiles before the said date and time and scored above 720 CRS points.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) revealed the details of the March 18 draw on March 20. With the latest draw, the total number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued by Canada through the Express Entry system so far this year has touched 19368.
Though the COVID-19 impact has slogged down the operations of the IRCC, they are still striving to meet the immigration target for 2020.
 

Canada Express Entry

Canada introduced the Express Entry system in 2015 with an aim to manage immigration applications through the three major federal economic immigration programs, which are the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class. The Express Entry candidates are ranked on the basis of the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which is calculated on the basis of selection factors including age, education, skilled work experience and proficiency in English or French. IRCC invites candidates with the highest scores in the Express Entry draws that are conducted once in every two weeks.
 

Express Entry-aligned PNPs

Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island provinces have issued more than 5000 invitations to Express Entry candidates in the last few weeks. Saskatchewan has issued more than 1750 invitations to Express Entry candidates since the start of the current year. In January, 954 Express Entry candidates with work experience in six tech occupations received invitations from Ontario. Alberta invited Express Entry candidates with CRS score as low as 300 to apply for provincial nomination in two draws held this year.
 

Canada’s immigration target

In 2018, Canada admitted 320000 newcomers and in 2019, a total of 341000 newcomers. For 2020 too, Canada’s immigration target is 341000. Canada is welcoming a vast majority of its newcomers through economic class immigration programs in 2020. To be precise, 58 percent of the immigrants will come to Canada through Express Entry programs, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), Quebec’s programs, and other federal streams such as the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) in 2020.

Express Entry draws held so far in 2020

Canada Express Entry offers simple and fast-track pathway for international skilled workers to migrate to the country. Check your eligibility for Express Entry migration by our free online assessment form.