Canada invited 829 immigration candidates in a newest Express Entry draw
PNP candidates invited by IRCC in new Express Entry draw
IRCC also announces that all-program draws will be resuming in July
On April 27, 2022, Canada invited 829 immigration candidates in a new Express Entry draw.
The draw was a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) specific draw, meaning only candidates who previously received a provincial nomination were eligible for the draw.
Selected candidates had to meet a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 772. The required score is fairly high since the candidates had received 600 extra points when they got their nomination. This means the lowest possible score for each candidate was 172.
During the last round of invitations, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued fewer invitations and had a higher score requirement.
On the heels of the draw, an announcement was also made by the Immigration Minister, Sean Fraser that Express Entry draws for candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker (FSWP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) programs will be resuming at the beginning of July.
The Minister also anticipates that the service standard for processing new Express Entry applications will go back to six months. Resuming these draws will help Canada reach its immigration levels target for 2022.
PNP specific draws have never been the norm. In fact, before the pandemic, IRCC tended to hold general draws which were focused on inviting candidates with the highest scores. It didn’t matter which program they were applying under.
As COVID began to present numerous challenges, this stance shifted and IRCC began to focus on CEC and PNP candidates only. Since September 2021, IRCC changed strategies once again and began to hold only PNP draws.
These changes allowed Canada to land over 400,000 permanent residents in 2021 and have helped the provinces meet their immigration goals.
Of course, it hasn’t been a perfect solution and the federal government is now dealing with an enormous backlog of applications.
The federal government is currently working hard to reduce the backlog and a significant portion of the 2022 Budget has been devoted to providing support and resources for immigration.
Everything points to the second half of 2022 seeing a surge in immigration numbers.