The week of June 7, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba held PNP draws across numerous streams and categories. A combined total of 706 immigration candidates received an invitation to apply for a provincial nomination. If successful, they may be selected during IRCC’s next round of invitations.
940 PNP candidates invited in new Express Entry draw
CRS goes down as IRCC holds biggest PNP draw yet
On June 9, 2021, Canada held a new Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) specific draw and issued 940 invitations.
This was the biggest PNP-only draw ever to be held by IRCC. In order to qualify for the draw, immigration candidates were required to meet a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 711 or higher.
Because the candidates had previously received a provincial nomination, they were automatically awarded an additional 600 points on their existing CRS scores. This means the lowest scoring candidate’s actual score is just 111 points!
In IRCC’s last PNP-specific draw, the score requirement was higher, at 713 and only 500 invitations were issued. This draw saw a decrease in the score requirement and an increase in the number of candidates who received invitations.
Even if there isn’t an actual tie between profiles, IRCC publishes a cutoff time for the tie-break rule for administrative reasons. Any profiles submitted after February 16, 2021 at 09:06:30 UTC were not considered or eligible for this draw.
One of the most significant effects of the pandemic in 2020 was a significant decline in immigration numbers. As a result, IRCC has been holding regular Express Entry draws since the beginning of this year and issuing large numbers of invitations to PNP and CEC candidates.
The majority of these candidates are already living and working in Canada. If they become permanent residents by the end of the year, Canada will get one step closer to reaching its 2021 immigration targets.
Express Entry draw held for CEC candidates
CRS scores drop again as IRCC issues 6,000 invitations in new draw
Following the June 9 draw, a substantial number of immigration candidates received invitations to apply for permanent residency in a second Express Entry draw on June 10, 2021.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited 6,000 candidates under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program.
The CRS score dropped yet again and the minimum score required was 368 or higher.
In addition to meeting the minimum score, eligible candidates need to demonstrate they have one year or more of skilled work experience from a Canadian employer and prove intermediate language proficiency in one or both of Canada’s official languages.
A cutoff time for tie-break rule was published for administrative reasons. Only candidates who submitted their Express Entry profile by April 28, 2021 05:45:14 UTC were considered for this draw. Any applications submitted after this time may be eligible for future draws.
2021 has been an interesting year as the federal government continues to hold regular draws with jaw droppingly low CRS score requirements.
The last CEC-specific draw required a score of 380 while the historic draw of February 13, 2021 dropped the score requirement to a shocking 75 points. We can only wonder what the next score will be.
One thing is for sure, IRCC is keeping things exciting!