IRCC Conducts Second Express Entry Draw of the Week, Issuing 500 ITAs to CEC Candidates: October 2024

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has launched second Invitations to Apply (ITAs) from its Express Entry draw.

This latest round issued 500 ITAs exclusively for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants. Those who will be eligible should have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) of 539. Yesterday, IRCC released 1,613 ITAs for PNP candidates to qualify; they require a minimum CRS score of 739.

The previous draw that occurred on September 19, in fact brought in 4,000 CEC candidates with a minimum CRS score of 509, higher than the score for the draw on August 27 CEC which came in at 507.

With the onset of summer, CEC-specific draws have occurred more regularly, and IRCC had so far released 21,800 ITAs to the CEC applicants since July. This is also a form of “domestic” draws on the part of IRCC to increase permanent residents according to their goal of reaching this year’s permanent resident levels.

This is the second draw for this month. In October last year, IRCC held four draws and released total ITAs to 9,173 candidates.

Latest Draw Details: 

• Draw Date: October 9, 2024
• Draw Type: Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
• Number of Invitation Issued: 500
• Minimum CRS Requirement: 539

Express Entry Draws List

Understanding Express Entry System

The Express Entry system was instituted in 2015 aimed at helping IRCC identify the most competent professional migrant who could fill in labor market gaps. Its applications fall under three categories, which include:

• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
• Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

It scores candidates using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) which considers human capital factors, such as work experience, age, education, language ability, and occupation.

It also includes having a spouse, sibling in Canada, or previous work or study experience in Canada. The better the CRS score, the higher will be the chances of getting an ITA in the subsequent draw depending on the type of draw being held.

New Category-Based Draws

IRCC introduced category-based draws in May 2023. Category-based draws, in general, have relatively lower CRS score requirements. In general, these draws look for applicants that match the need in any urgent skill category of the workforce. Six main categories have been identified by IRCC for these draws: 

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

Those categories were selected based on an extended consult process and labor market needs assessments. One of IRCC’s goals is to have 6% of new arrivals establish themselves in Quebec’s French-speaking regions outside of the province. Even though category-based draws typically have lower CRS cut-offs, there still must be a valid CRS score within the Express Entry pool, and a higher score is always better.