Canada invites 668 Express Entry candidates in latest draw

A new episode in Canada PR immigration was scripted with a fresh round of Express Entry draw on March 18, 2020.  The Government of Canada released the details of this Express Entry draw on March 20, 2020.

In this Express Entry, 668 candidates were invited to apply for permanent residence. With this draw, a total of 19,368 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) has been issued so far through Canada’s Express Entry system this year.

As always, a minimum score under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) was set. This time, the score requirement was set at 720. This score is apparently much higher than the last Express Entry requirement. That one had 471 as the minimum required score. But it must be noted that the present draw included only candidates holding provincial nominations. The provincial nominations were aligned with Express Entry.

The COVID-19 crisis is indeed slowing down the services provided by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). But Canada is putting in all efforts to meet its immigration targets for 2020. This is indeed essential even with the survival of their economy in view.

A large number of the participants were allotted to get Permanent Residency through Canada’s Express Entry system.

The pool of candidates for Canada’s 3 Federal High Skilled economic immigration programs are managed by the Express Entry. These are

• Federal Skilled Trades Class
• Canadian Experience Class
• Federal Skilled Worker Class

The eligible candidates are ranked in the Express Entry pool. The ranks are based on a score given under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS score is decided based on the factors such as:

• Education
• Age
• Skill in English or French
• Experience in skilled work

A specific number of candidates who rank the highest are issued invitations to apply for Permanent Residency in Canada. These invitations are sent through regular draws from the Express Entry Pool. The Express Entry pool draw typically takes place every 2 weeks.

A tie break of March 19, 2020, at 02:04:06 UTC was applied by IRCC. This implies that all candidates with the following qualities received an ITA:

• CRS scores above 720
• CRS scores of 720 and profiles in the Express Entry pool prior to the tie break date and time

Immigration Canada has set the target for this year at 341,000 immigrants. This is the same as that was set in 2019. Even earlier, in 2018, the target was 320,000.

The federal government’s Immigration Levels Plan for 2020-2022 has immigration targets between 340,000 and 400,000.

Among those who are to arrive in Canada, most are set to arrive under the economic class. 58% of these immigrants are set to arrive through:

• Express Entry programs
• Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP)
• Quebec’s program
• Federal streams like the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP)

Express Entry candidates have many options to improve their scores if they come below the stipulated cut-off mark. These include improving the language scores or obtaining a provincial nomination for Canadian permanent residency. In the case of provincial nomination, the candidate receives an added 600 CRS points. This will effectively guarantee an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

In the last few weeks, there have been few Express Entry-aligned PNP programs. These include those conducted in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island. Over 5000 invitations have been sent via these PNPs to Express Entry candidates.

Saskatchewan has recently invited over 1,750 Express Entry candidates. These invitations were sent via Express Entry subcategory of its immigrant nominee program.

Ontario sent 954 invitations to Express Entry candidates in January. These candidates had work experience in any of six tech occupations namely:

• 0213 Computer and information systems managers
• 2172 Database analysts and data administrators
• 2175 Web designers and developers
• 2147 Computer engineers
• 2174 Computer programmer and interactive media developers
• 2173 Software engineers and designers

Express Entry candidates with CRS scores as low as 300 were selected in Alberta. The selection round was held on February 20, 2020, through the Alberta Express Entry Stream.

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to Canada, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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