Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in the fourth Express Entry draw this month.
The department issued 3,200 ITAs in a category-based selection draw for French language proficiency.
Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 420 to be considered.
Today’s draw closely follows three draws from last week between July 2-5. The July 2 draw invited 920 candidates in a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) only draw. Candidates needed a minimum CRS score of 739 to be considered.
The other two draws were category-based selection draws. The first occurred on July 4 and issued 1,800 ITAs to candidates in trade occupations and the second was for 3,750 candidates in healthcare occupations on July 5.
Altogether this month has been a busy one so far for Express Entry draws. IRCC typically holds draws every second week, and averages between two and four draws every month. Comparatively, April was the last month to feature four draws and the February was the busiest of the year so far with six.
French-proficiency draws are expected to account for 30% of the ITAs issued in category-based selection draws this year. To date, IRCC has issued 15,600 ITAs to eligible candidates this year for this category.
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry is IRCC’s application management system for three prominent economic immigration programs; the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). It was launched in 2015 to single-out the immigration candidates with the best chance of integrating into Canada’s workforce and economy.
Express Entry programs each have different eligibility criteria but all candidates are evaluated using the Comprehensive Ranking System. The system assigns numeric scores to candidates based on human capital factors such as age, language ability, education, work experience and occupation. These scores are added together and form an overall CRS score. The higher the score, the more likely a candidate is to receive an ITA from IRCC in an upcoming Express Entry draw.
What is category-based selection?
Category-based selection draws were introduced in 2023 as a way for IRCC to further target candidates who can fill urgent workforce gaps. The six categories were chosen following extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders, as well as provincial and territorial governments. The current categories are:
- Healthcare occupations
- Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
- Trades occupations, such as carpenters, plumbers, and contractors
- Transport occupations
- Agriculture and agri-food occupations
- French-language proficiency
These will remain in place until 2025, at which point they may change to better suit the demands on Canada’s labour force. In all categories except French-proficiency, eligible candidates require at least six months of relevant work experience in an occupation that falls under an eligible National Occupation Classification (NOC) code.
