Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada holds what seems like the last PNP draw for the year 2021.
746 Express Entry candidates invited by Canada
IRCC holds what will likely be the last PNP specific draw of 2021
December 22, 2021 saw Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) holding a new draw for Express Entry candidates who have received a nomination through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
A total of 746 immigration candidates received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residency.
In order to qualify for the draw, candidates needed to meet a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 720. Since candidates with provincial nominations are awarded an extra 600 points on their existing CRS, the actual score for each candidate is 120.
Since September of this year, IRCC has been holding draws for PNP candidates only. This draw is the eighth one to be held in a row.
IRCC hit pause on Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws in the fall as a way of managing a backlog of applications. The department’s aim is to halve the Express Entry backlog before it begins to consider other candidates from other programs.
Throughout 2021, IRCC has not held a single draw targeting Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) or Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) candidates.
The department’s focus for this year has been just on PNP and CEC candidates since the majority of those candidates were already living and working in Canada. This strategy may continue in 2022 if new COVID variants continue to pose immigration challenges.