In a new Express Entry round of invites, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has sent Invitations to Apply (ITA) to foreign nationals looking to immigrate to Canada. These are the invitations to apply for permanent residence under the Express Entry system in Canada. A Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 504 was required to be awarded an ITA. If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.
In an all-program draw, the IRCC has invited 3,000 candidates and the invitations to apply will be applicable to the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades Program and Provincial Nominee Program through this round of invitations. For an eligible foreign national to be invited to make an application, they must be ranked among the first 3,000 eligible foreign nationals in the general ranking.
IRCC holds 3 different types of rounds of invitations throughout the year.
- General rounds of invitations
- Program-specific rounds of invitations
- Category-based rounds of invitations
Express Entry manages applications for 3 immigration programs:
Federal Skilled Worker Program
Federal Skilled Trades Program
Canadian Experience Class
For category-based rounds of invitations, a category to meet a specific economic goal is established before sending invite to top-ranking candidates in the pool who are eligible for this category.
One must be eligible for 1 of the 3 programs managed through Express Entry to be placed in the pool.
IRCC had announced in May of this year that it would begin holding draws for Express Entry candidates based on one specific quality rather than their overall CRS score. Subsequently, six new categories for in-demand occupations and freshers with good French language ability were established.
The five occupational categories are as follows:
Healthcare
STEM professions
Trades
Transport
Agriculture and agri-food