Canadian Immigration – by Adnan Kamal

This has been a spectacular month for Canadian Immigration, even with the world hit with the pandemic and new strains of Coronavirus being discovered in Europe hasn’t deterred the Canadian Government to sway from their commitment.

Canadian Immigration ends this year with a large number of invitations issued to Express Entry applicants. And the number is *drumroll* – 107,350.

Express Entry Draw – 23rd December

In the latest Express Entry Draw that took place on December 23rd invited over 5,000 applicants. Now, this is the 4th consecutive draw where 5,000 Invitations to Apply (ITA) have been issued to immigration applicants. And the 107,350 ITA’s issued is a record-high number of invitations. 

A short review on Express Entry, which is Canada’s immigration application management system. This system manages the three main economic class programs:

1. Federal Skilled Worker
2. Federal Skilled Trades
3. Canadian Experience Class

Applicant profiles that are in these programs are evaluated based on a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. Applicants are scored on capital factors such as:

1. Age
2. Education
3. Work Experience
4. Language Proficiency (English or French)

* You can get up to a strong additional 50 points by proving French Proficiency, even if French is your second language.

The applicant with the highest score in the Express Entry pool will be invited to apply for permanent residence.

Please refer to the below table for the general facts pertaining to this draw.

* The tie-breaking rule is for applicants who are clashing with the minimum CRS score. In this case, the date and time the applicant submitted their Express Entry profile play a role. So if you submitted your profile after the above-mentioned date and time and you have the minimum CRS score required, then your profile will not be considered.

What has happened so far?

As the world was hit by the Coronavirus and we had just begun to understand the virus and its complications, the world was under a global lockdown. With travel restrictions and a common fear of contracting the virus all plans had come to a standstill and similarly the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) only held program-specific draws. However, as time passed ICCRC implemented ways and adapted to the pandemic in order to facilitate the continuation of selecting skilled workers and professionals through most of its programs.

Talking about the latest draw which had a minimum CRS score requirement of 468, shows us that the last 4 draws which have invited 5,000 applicants have also seen a decrease in the CRS score.

Please refer to the below table for the last 5 Express Entry Draws CRS requirements.

Canada’s Express Entry System first began in 2015 and this is the first time where the number of ITA’s issued have crossed 100,000. I never thought I would be saying 2020 has been a great year for Canadian Immigration and the invited applicants.

Provincial Nominee Program inked with Express Entry was also reeling in applicants to meet their labour market needs. Provinces such as Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, British Columbia have all held Express Entry linked Provincial nominee draws in the last 4 weeks.

Any applicant who receives a provincial nomination receives an additional 600 CRS points, and this basically guarantees you an ITA in the next draw.

Congratulations to the selected applicants, it has indeed been a splendid year for immigrating to Canada despite all the hurdles. Hard work and hope have paid off and the dream of settling in Canada is finally a reality. On this note I would like to wish you all Happy Holidays and remember to stay #foreverHopeful; you never know when an opportunity might show up.