WHATSAPPIn yet another Express Entry draw that exclusively targeted Canadian Experience Class(CEC) candidates, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada(IRCC) invited 5000 candidates to apply for permanent residence. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off score dropped 432 in the draw, which is 17 points lower compared to the previous CEC-specific Express Entry draw.
This is the third-lowest CRS cut-off score for a CEC-specific draw held during the pandemic. Tie-break rule was applied in the draw and the time stamp given was February 16, 2021 at 09:51:22 UTC. It means only those who had submitted their Express Entry profiles before the said date and time were considered in the draw.
Canada’s borders remain closed for non-essential travellers ever since the border restrictions were imposed in March 2020, in the wake of COVID outbreak. At the same time, Canada needs a high number of immigrants in order to address labour scarcity and an aging population. In this context, Canada has been conducting program-specific draws because most of the candidates invited in this manner will be residing in Canada itself.
Canadian Experience Class is one of the economic immigration programs of Canada managed under Express Entry. To qualify under the program, the candidates need to have at least one year of full-time Canadian work experience in a skilled occupation. In a CEC-specific draw held on February 13, Canada had invited every single CEC candidates in the Express Entry pool, 27332 immigration candidates in total. As a result, the total number of Express Entry invitations issued by Canada so far this year has already reached 49,124. In 2020, the number of Express Entry candidates invited by IRCC during the same period was 22600.
Express Entry draws in 2021
| Date | Number | Number of invitations issued | CRS cut-off score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-4-2021 | 181 | 5000(ECE-specific) | 432 |
| 31-3-2021 | 180 | 284(PNP-specific) | 778 |
| 18-3-2021 | 179 | 5000(CEC-specific) | 449 |
| 17-3-2021 | 178 | 183 (PNP-specific) | 682 |
| 8-3-2021 | 177 | 671(PNP-specific) | 739 |
| 13-2-2021 | 176 | 27332(CEC-specific) | 75 |
| 10-2-2021 | 175 | 654(PNP-specific) | 720 |
| 21-1-2021 | 174 | 4626(CEC-specific) | 454 |
| 20-1-2021 | 173 | 374(PNP-specific) | 741 |
| 8-1-2021 | 172 | 4750(CEC-specific) | 461 |
| 6-1-2021 | 171 | 250(PNP-specific) | 813 |
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