Express Entry candidates with a CRS score of 400 eligible in new CEC-specific draw.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held a draw on April 29, 2021 for Express Entry candidates.
Following the draw, 6,000 individuals from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) received an invitation to apply for their permanent residency.
The minimum score requirement was 400, the second lowest score to ever be required for a CEC specific draw.
In order to be eligible for the draw, candidates had to have submitted their Express Entry profile by April 24, 2021 at 15:24:49 UTC. Any applications submitted after this time, were not considered in the draw.
Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
Created in 2008, the CEC stream was designed to help transition international students and temporary workers to permanent residents. Eligible candidates have to demonstrate one year of work experience in Canada in a job found in the National Occupational Classification (NOC).
CEC candidates are valuable assets to the federal government since they are contributing to Canada’s economic and cultural growth.
Applications submitted through this program are processed faster.
IRCC focusing on temporary residents in Canada
The federal government is steadily working towards their goal of welcoming 401,000 newcomers into the country before the end of the year.
With that in mind, IRCC has been focusing on holding program-specific Express Entry draws and issuing invitations to candidates who are already living in Canada. It is estimated that 90% of the CEC candidates are applying from within Canada.
The trend so far is two Express Entry draws held biweekly. One draw targets CEC candidates while the other draw is for Express Entry candidates who received a nomination from a province during a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw.
By targeting applicants who are in the country, IRCC is bypassing the ongoing travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic and making up for the sharp decline of new immigrants in 2020. This approach has been very successful so far and Canada ended Q1 of 2021 with a record high number of invitations issued.
On April 14, 2021 Minister Mendicino announced that IRCC would be launching six new programs targeting essential workers and international student graduates. IRCC’s plan is to issue 90,000 candidates with ITAs and issue an unlimited number of ITAs to qualified French-speaking candidates.
With all these programs in place, Canada should have no trouble meeting its 2021 Immigration Levels Plan.
To date, a total of 61,771 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) have been issued to candidates through Express Entry draws. That number will likely be higher in the coming weeks.