Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in the most recent Express Entry draw.

The department issued 1,000  ITAs in a category-based selection draw for French-speaking proficiency.

Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 444 to be considered.

This was the third Express Entry draw of the week. Earlier  the department invited 1,613 Express Entry candidates with Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nominations. They required a minimum score of 743. A draw also took place on October 9 inviting 500 candidates from the Canadian Experience Class with a minimum score of 539.

Before this week, the most recent draw occurred on September 19 and invited 4,000 candidates from the Canadian Experience Class -only. These candidates needed a minimum CRS score of 509 to be considered, marking a slight increase over the previous CEC draw on August 27 (507).

In recent months, IRCC has reduced the number of category-based selection draws and there hasn't been a category-based selection draw for any category other than French language proficiency since a draw for candidates in healthcare occupations on July 5.

In contrast, Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws have been increasingly common over the summer with IRCC issuing 21,800 ITAs to CEC candidates since July. This is line with IRCC’s stated intention to increase the number of “domestic” draws and reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada. This strategy also aims to help the department meet its permanent resident targets for the year.

Today’s draw is the third of the month. Last year, IRCC held four draws throughout October, inviting 9,173 candidates.

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is an application management system that was launched in 2015 to help IRCC select economic immigration candidates with the capacity to fill urgent labour force gaps.

Candidates who apply to any of the three programs managed by Express Entry (the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the CEC) are evaluated using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

The CRS evaluates candidates based on their human capital factors. These include work experience, age, language ability, education, and occupation. Candidates can also get additional points for immigrating with a spouse or partner, having a sibling in Canada or having work experience or education in Canada.

Each factor adds points to a candidate’s overall score and the higher the score, the more likely it is that the candidates will get an ITA in an upcoming Express Entry draw, depending on the draw type.

Category-based selection

CRS scores tend to be lower on average in category-based selection draws. These are draw types that IRCC introduced in May 2023 to help the department select Express Entry candidates who can fill urgent workforce or demographic gaps. The department has six categories for these draws.

• Healthcare
• Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
• Trades
• Transport
• Agriculture and agri-food
• French language proficiency

IRCC says the categories were selected following in-depth consultations with multiple stakeholders and consulting labour market conditions, as well as considering the department’s target for admitting 6% of all newcomers into French-minority communities outside of Quebec.

While the CRS cut-off scores for these draws are often less those in program specific or general draws, candidates must still have an application in the Express Entry pool and having a high CRS score is an advantage.

Summary of Express Entry draw results in 2024