Hey, guess what? IRCC has invited 7,000 candidates to apply for permanent residence in Canada through the Express Entry program. This is the second consecutive week that IRCC has invited candidates. This was an all-program draw, which means candidates who are eligible in PNP, CEC, FSW and FSTC categories were included in this draw.
This draw is a big deal because it ties in with the largest-ever all-program draw on March 15. Also because it’s a back-to-back (consecutive) draw, which has managed to pull the CRS scores down to a number, which hasn’t been seen in a long long time. 😂😂
The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score for this draw was 484. The previous record was on January 18 when IRCC invited 5,500 candidates.
With this draw, IRCC has sort of redeemed itself and has earned forgiveness for having paused the draws earlier in February this year, causing severe anxiety, stress, and panic attacks among 1000s of aspirants.
Express Entry draws early in 2023 mostly focused on candidates in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). However, it seems like IRCC is now back to considering all candidates in the Express Entry pool.
If you’re not familiar with the PNP, it’s a program that allows provinces to nominate candidates for permanent residence based on their own selection criteria. IRCC recently announced that provinces will now have their own multi-year immigration plan, similar to the federal Immigration Levels Plan. This means provinces will know their allocation of provincial nominations in advance, which will help them plan better to support newcomers.
If you’re interested in applying for permanent residence in Canada through Express Entry and your scores are not high enough to attract a direct invite, it’s a good idea to obtain a provincial nomination to increase your chances. This can add 600 points to your CRS score, which essentially guarantees an ITA for permanent residence.
If you’re a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holder interested in gaining permanent residence, you’ll be happy to know that IRCC has offered an 18-month Open Work Permit extension. This will allow more PGWP holders to continue to vie for Express Entry ITAs. More details on this will be published on April 06th. More on that later…