Canada Express Entry CRS Drops below 500 | Latest News & Updates

For the first time post-December 2020, the CRS cut-off for all program express entry draws has dropped to 496.

Express Entry draws have resumed since July 2022. The latest news about Express Entry’s ninth draw held which was on October 26, 2022, brought in the highest hype in the minds of applicants, the draw was recorded to have the lowest Comprehensive Ranking System score which is 496, followed by ITA’s issued to 4,750 candidates from the economic programs that include Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Covid break-out had taken a major hit in the entries draw being withheld concerning Express Entry System. The Canadian government had paused all program draws relating to express entry in December 2020 for a time span of 18 months before the upliftment. During the period of pause, candidates who were applying under the CEC and PNP were only issued invitations to apply.

The major reason for these draws being paused is because of the backlog in applications that were caused due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Further in September 2021, the draws for candidates under the CEC program were also held on pause in order to avoid creating a larger backlog of applications for permanent residence.

For the first time post upliftment, the CRS score cut-off has dipped below 500. The last low score recorded below 500 was in December 23, 2020 draw with a score of 468.

This break has created a scarcity of skilled workers in the nation, in order to fill in this gap Canadian government made the decision to upliftment on the restrictions and conduct the express entry draws and roll out Invitations to apply (ITA) to the applicants under economic programs. As a part of this Immigration, Refugee, Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been stressing to lower the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores to increase the Invitation To Apply (ITAs) issued with every successive draw.

Canada Express Entry Latest news

“Canada aims to reach half a million new Immigrants welcomed mark by 2025.”

Immigration, Refugee, Citizenship Canada (IRCC) every year rolls out its Immigration level plans that act as a guide for us to know and understand the nation’s aim to welcome new immigrants for the next three years. The Canadian government needs to abide by the set law as per the Immigration and Refugee Act (IRPA), Canada’s main Immigration law to make the Immigration Level plan announcement by November 1 every year.

The latest immigration level plan 2023-2025 has been released by IRCC, highlights of which include

• Canada welcomed 405,000 immigrants in 2021 and aims to welcome 432,000 new immigrants this year.
• In 2023 the country aims to welcome 465,000 new immigrants.
• In 2024 the nation further increased its targets and iterated the target to the mark 485,000.
• By 2025, the number of new immigrants entering the country would reach half a million, or 500,000.

The immigration goals have been formulated with the aim of economic growth, reuniting families, and offering asylum to refugees who are fleeing as a result of hardships abroad.

Express Entry and PNP targets have taken a rise

The majorly preferred gateway to Canada Permanent Residence is through economic class programs. The Express Entry System has three programs included under its system which include the Federal skilled workers program (FSWP), the Federal skilled trades program (FSTP), the Canadian experience class; and the other system under this class is the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), whose applicants are as well eligible to the programs under express entry or free to proceed through the non-express entry system.

The targets as per the Immigration level plans 2023-2025 are all set to witness a rise through the Express Entry gateways. If we have a look at the increasing numbers specifically under each system the estimates as per the progressive years are as follows – in 2023 Canada has set the target of 82,880, in 2024 the target has been increased to 109,020, and in the year 2025 the targets haven further hyped up to 114,000 respectively.

While if we peep into the next most considered segment which is the Provincial Nominee Program immigrants’, the new immigrants’ numbers bar has also witnessed a significant rise, with the targets being set for 105,500 for the years 2023, the years 2024 it is to 110,000, and in 2025 it has been increased to 117,500 respectively.

Family class programs

Family reunification is the second major consideration of Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The family class sponsorship is the highest permanent residency class after the economic class programs. Under this class, the applicants are sponsored for permanent residence by a spouse, children, partner, and other family members.

The spouse, children, and partners programs which however continued to be maintained at the mark of 80,000 new immigrants yearly, the targets for parents and grandparents’ programs are planned to rise to 28,500 in 2023, 34,000 in 2024, and 36,000 by 2025 respectively.

What encourages Canada to welcome more immigrants?

The immigration Levels Plan is drafted and created by IRCC, in coordination with governmental departments, as support to IRCC’s mandate to support and welcome immigrants to contribute to economic growth, family reunification, and to provide humanitarian assistance.

New immigrants are vital because they increase the skilled efficiency in the country, thus contributing to the economic front. For instance, the current population mostly comprises aging people born between 1946 and to early 1960s, nearing retirement also the taxes paid are used to support infrastructure, healthcare, pension, education structure, and more services in the nation. The increasing number of immigrants would contribute to maintaining the high and quality living standards of the country.

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is an application management system that serves three of the Canadian immigration programs namely, the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP), the Federal skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Along with these programs, there is one more, the Provincial Nominee Program. The candidates of the Provincial Nominee Program already gain eligibility for at least one of the three mentioned programs under Express Entry.

Express Entry System uses a point-based ranking system, named the comprehensive ranking system to rank candidates’ profiles. The top score candidates above the eligibility cut-off are sent out invitations to apply, who can further proceed to apply for permanent residency.

After the applicant has filled in the ITA, an IRCC officer reviews the application and makes the decision relating to approval. On being approved the applicant becomes a permanent resident of Canada and is a step closer to becoming a Canadian citizen.

So, another question that arises here is can the CRS scores be improved? To answer that Yes, you certainly can. A few proven measures could be to increase your language scores or increase your work experience, try getting a job offer from a Canadian employer, or get a nomination from a province.

What influenced Canada’s Immigration Strategy?

The current immigration strategy of the nation has been shaped for decades. The major influence is from the 1980s as the situation or targets adopted today are similar to then in terms of the final result which is the economy of the day.

In 1984, the nation welcomed about 90,000 immigrants, which increased to 250,000 new permanent residents in the 1990s to meet the impending labor shortages. The liberal government had these targets set in the past however the numbers have increased as a result of the economic recession, which led to a much greater emphasis on inviting the new immigrants more of the economic class rather than the family and humanitarian class.

Until 2015 Canada welcomed about 260,000 immigrants annually and with the current liberal government coming to power the targets have witnessed an increase to 300,000 and further to 340,000 in 2020 i.e., the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The restrictions imposed during the covid-19 had given IRCC a difficult time concerning the application processing. In spite of the tough situation, Canada outgrew its record in 2021 for the highest number of permanent residents invited which was 405,000.

Canada is currently facing a situation where it is facing a major labor shortage accompanied by one million job vacancies which have been leading to the formulation of the current Immigration strategy.

Conclusion:

A recent report published by Statistics Canada which talks about the selection factors highlights the factor “time of landing”, and states that this is a very impactful factor for the applicants concerning their short, medium, and long-term earnings of new permanent residents. Education, work experience, and language have still been among the prime deciding factors but amongst them, previous work experience still holds the strongest influence when brought into consideration concerning the individual’s economic outlook.

Having a look at the numbers so far Canada has admitted over 28,000 new immigrants up to August 31 through the Express Entry programs, and this new immigration levels plan is certainly inclining to the willingness of the nation to welcome far greater numbers of new immigrants, compared to the one so far achieved.