Blue Bird Blog

Express Entry: IRCC invites 700 candidates in surprise all-program draw

IRCC has invited 700 candidates in the most recent Express Entry draw. It was an all-program draw and candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 511. This draw comes as a surprise as Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has said it will invite 1,500 healthcare workers via category-based selection tomorrow, July 5. In addition, it is expected IRCC will also invite candidates with work experience in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) occupations in the first-ever category-based selection Express Entry draw for STEM professions. It remains to be seen what the minimum CRS score will be required for healthcare and STEM candidates.

Last week, on June 28, IRCC held the first-ever Express Entry category-based draw, inviting 500 healthcare workers with a minimum CRS score of 476. On that same date, IRCC announced it would be inviting STEM professions in a category-based Express Entry round this week.

The current CRS score of 511 is the highest seen in any all-program draw of 2023. It is significantly higher than it was in the last all-program draw on June 27 when there were 4,300 candidates invited with a minimum CRS score of 486. It is also 35 points higher than the 476 required in the category-based draw on June 28.

Category-based draws

Category-based selection draws are a new type of Express Entry draw that aims to invite candidates within specific occupational fields or those who have other in-demand attributes. There are six new categories for which candidates may be eligible:

Healthcare
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
Trades, such as carpenters, plumbers, and contractors
Transport
Agriculture and agri-food
Strong French-language proficiency

Category based selection draws were made possible following changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in June 2022. The changes give the immigration minister the authority to invite economic immigrants based on a specific attribute that align with Canada’s economic priorities or will promote the French language outside of Quebec.

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is an application management system used by IRCC to select candidates for permanent residency based on their Comprehensive Ranking System score. The CRS evaluates candidates according to attributes such as work experience, occupation, language ability, education, age and more. When an eligible Express Entry candidate uploads their profile to the IRCC website, they are assigned a CRS score based on these factors and ranked alongside other candidates. The candidates who have the highest scores are the most likely to receive an invitation to apply (ITA).

There are three programs managed by Express Entry: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class. Eligibility requirements are different for each program, but they are evaluated using the same system.

Source: cicnews.com

Express Entry

February 2025: State of the Express Entry pool

After a January that saw Express Entry draws return to some semblance of normalcy, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has already held two draws in the month of February.
January saw the issuance of 5,821 Invitations to Apply (ITAs): candidates includes those in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and those in enhanced Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). Last month was also the first month since June of 2024 that the immigration department did not hold an Express Entry draw for candidates with French-language proficiency.

A ten-year review: How Express Entry shaped immigration in Canada

Jan 31, 2025 marks the ten-year anniversary of Canada’s first Express Entry draw.

Since then, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued over 800,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residency (PR) through the Express Entry system.

Canada launches new immigration pathway for French speakers

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has launched the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP) immigration pathway.
This new immigration pathway was first announced in March of 2024, with further details revealed in December of last year.
Under this program, newcomers with an intermediate level of French ability—and who have an offer of employment in priority occupations sought by a community outside of Quebec—can be nominated and receive Canadian permanent residence (PR).

New Brunswick begins reopening immigration programs

New Brunswick will finally begin opening its immigration streams, after a period of adjustment following notice from the federal government that the province would only be given 2,750 immigrant nomination spaces this year.
The 2,750 spaces will be split up between the New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program NBPNP (1,500) and the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) (1,250).
In a press release on February 5, Jean-Claude D’Amours, acting Minister of Post-Secondary Education for the province, stated that the significant reduction in allocations for 2025 has forced the province “to make difficult decisions."

ANALYSIS: How many Express Entry ITAs can we expect to see in December?

Previous years of Express Entry draws can help us make reasonable estimates of how many Invitations to Apply (ITAs) we might expect to see issued for the remainder of 2024.

Should the number of ITAs issued in the remainder of 2024, relative to the landing target for 2025, be the same as it was on average for years 2021 to 2023, we might expect IRCC to issue about 3,522 ITAs through Express Entry in December.

Is it worth applying for Express Entry after you turn 35?

Prospective Canadian immigrants are sometimes discouraged from applying for Express Entry after they turn 35 years of age.
This is largely due to points lost on their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
The Express Entry application management system uses the CRS to rank and order eligible Express Entry candidates based on their human capital factors before they can receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).