Today IRCC issued 27,332 invitations to apply (ITAs) to candidates in the Express Entry pool eligible for PR under the Canadian Experience Class. Candidates in the pool were only required to have a minimum of 75 CRS points to receive an ITA. Only candidates that were eligible under the CEC were issued invitations – no invitations were issued under Federal Skilled Worker or Federal Skilled Trades programs.
This is a completely unprecedented draw never seen before in the history of Express Entry which has been in place since January 1, 2015. The highest number of invitations issued prior to the day was 5000. The lowest ever minimum cutoff score under the Canadian experience class was 413 points, which occurred in last round of invitations under the Canadian Experience Class (January 21, 2021).
Based on these numbers, IRCC has issued an invitation to every candidate in the Express Entry pool who was eligible under the CEC.
Based on a CRS points calculation, the minimum score for a person who is eligible under the Canadian experience class is 64 CRS points. This calculation is based on a person who is worked one year in Canada in a NOC B and has a minimum language score of a CLB 5.
Today’s events will come as great news for people who before today would never have ever expected an invitation to apply (ITA).
How Can You Benefit?
A draw of this size, or any instance of so many applicants being invited to apply for PR in Canada under any immigration program, has never happened in history. While it was not possible to predict that something like this could ever happen, it’s possible that IRCC could do the same thing again one day.
No matter what your score, get your profile into the pool now!
Make sure that if a draw like this happens again that you will be one of the people receiving an invitation:
- Make sure your language test results are up to date – they have to be less than 2 years old at the time your PR application is submitted
- Renew your passport if it is valid for less than 18 months
- If some of your CRS points are based on your foreign education, get your ECA (Educational Credential Assessment) done now – processing times are still very long due to covid
Submit your PR Application
If you’ve received an ITA in this massive draw, then you have 90 days to submit your PR application from the date you received your ITA.
Get your application prepared to submit to IRCC right away. Don’t wait until the last minute to submit – start gathering your documents now.
You may also want to have a professional review your application prior to submission to prevent cancellation or refusal due to a mistake.
