IRCC Invites 911 PNP Candidates to Apply in Express Entry Draw

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada just invited a new batch of applicants to apply through the Express Entry system. This time, IRCC invited 911 ITAs only to candidates who are in the PNP.

The minimum CRS score required to be eligible for this draw was 732. This is the first Express Entry draw of the month and comes at the end of a busy summer. In July and August combined, IRCC operated 14 separate draws. This was the record number of Express Entry draws in a single month since the implementation of the system in 2015. Between July 2 and 31, IRCC operated nine draws.

In the draw prior to this one, on August 27, a total of 3,330 candidates in the Canadian Experience Class program were issued ITAs. In the last several months, IRCC has been issuing two or more draws every two-week period. At least one per two-week period has tended to be for PNP candidates. This reflects IRCC’s stated plan to place more emphasis on “domestic” draws, creating more opportunities for current temporary residents in Canada and fewer opportunities for new temporary residents.

2024 Express Entry List

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is the application management system that IRCC introduced in 2015 to manage and process applications through economic immigration programs more effectively. The system manages three main programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.

One of the prime features in Express Entry is the Comprehensive Ranking System, which includes points for language ability, years of work experience, educational background, occupation, and age, among others. All these build a candidate’s overall score wherein the higher the score, the more chances of receiving an ITA.

Besides these, there is also the possibility for candidates to be eligible for applying to specific PNP streams that align with Express Entry; these are called enhanced nominations. A person who is nominated by a PNP automatically receives an additional 600 points under the Comprehensive Ranking System and thus stands a very great chance of getting an ITA in subsequent draws.

In 2023, IRCC introduced category-specific draws targeting the selection of candidates with specific in-demand skills, primarily based on work experience. Candidates do not necessarily have to be from any particular Express Entry program, although they need to be in the Express Entry pool. The CRS in the selection of these categories is always lower as compared to program-specific or general draws.

The current six target categories are:

• Healthcare occupations.
• Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions.
• Trades occupations: this would include those working as carpenters, plumbers, contractors.
• Transport occupations.
• Agriculture and agri-food occupations.
• French-language proficiency. 

IRCC revisits these categories on an annual basis and modifies the same to meet the requirements brought about by emerging labour market needs and changing demographics.