Canada invited 6,000 Express Entry candidates from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) to apply for permanent Canadian immigration in its latest invitation round.
The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score requirement for this round of the draw was 357 points – the second-lowest ever CRS cutoff score for a CEC-only draw.
Successful CEC candidates in this invitation round – held on June 24, 2021 – needed to have submitted their profiles to the Express Entry pool before February 17, 2021.
CEC candidates who were eligible for this round of Canada’s invitation draws needed to have at least one year of work experience in Canada in a skilled occupation, as well as an intermediate level of proficiency in English or French.
After this invitation round, Canada has now issued more than 88,700 invitations to apply for permanent residency to Express Entry applicants. At this stage last year, Canada had invited only 46,392 applicants to apply for Canadian PR.
The CRS requirement for Express Entry invitation rounds continues to fall, as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) works on meeting its target of welcoming 401,000 new permanent residents to Canada by the end of this year.
This target of landing more than 400,000 new permanent residents in this year is part of Canada’s new Immigration Levels Plan, which will see the country admit 1.2 million new permanent residents by 2023.
While borders remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Canada is working to still meet its target of welcoming new permanent residents this year by encouraging temporary migrants who are already in the country to apply for permanent Canadian immigration.
In addition, IRCC is also periodically inviting applicants under the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), which allow skilled migrants to move to Canadian provinces and obtain permanent residency in the country.
However, the cutoff score for PNP invitation rounds is higher than the CEC-only draws, as PNP candidates are awarded an extra 600 points on their profiles as a result of being nominated by a Canadian province to apply to the federal government for permanent Canadian immigration.
Express Entry is Canada’s skilled migration application management system for three Federal High Skilled programs: the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).
Canadian immigration applicants under the Express Entry system are awarded points on their applications based on a number of factors, including age, education, work experience, and language skills.
