Canada’s latest all-program draw welcomes 3,900 immigrants

On August 5, 2020, Canada held another all-program draw that issued ITAs (Invitations to Apply) to 3,900 Express Entry (EE) candidates. They were invited to apply for permanent residence (PR). The least CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) score expected of the candidates was 476 in this round of invitations.

For most of 2020, every 2 weeks IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) has been issuing 3,900 ITAs via the Express Entry system. IRCC has come back to all-program draws in a while. Between March 18, 2020, and July 8, 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, Canada had focused on candidates from CEC (Canada Experience Class) and PNP (Provincial Nominee Program) categories.

It was on July 8, 2020, that Canada conducted an all-program draw before going back to program-specific mode. It seemed that Canada is trying to alternate between these types of immigration draws in the process of returning to normal.

The number of ITAs that Canada issued in 2020, has remained constant even though the temporary changes in Canada immigration policy. In January, there were 2 draws with 3,400 ITAs issued in each. In a draw that followed, 3,500 ITAs were issued. In February, a record-breaking number of 4,500 ITAs were issued in an immigration draw. Since March, IRCC conducted 21 draws with about 40,000 ITAs issued.

Express Entry is a system tsked with managing applications and profiles of candidates in a resource pool. These candidates belong to 3 major economic immigration classes namely:

• CEC (The Canadian Experience Class)
• FSWP (The Federal Skilled Worker Program)
• FSTC (The Federal Skilled Trades Class)

The Express Entry candidates who rank highest are issued ITAs in invitation rounds conducted regularly.

The August 5 draw was 2020’s 25th draw. It brought the total number of ITAs issued this year to 61,000. This is a new record for this date.

The minimum CRS of this draw was 2 points lower than the previous all-program invitation round which was conducted on July 8, 2020.

The time between draws is an important factor that can influence the CRS cut-off score. More number of candidates will be involved in a draw when the interval between draws is larger. That’s because candidates will have time to submit profiles in the Express Entry pool.

IRCC implemented its tie-break rule in this draw. The timestamp used was July 27, 2020, at 01:02:47 UTC. This implies that all candidates having a CRS score above 476, and those candidates with scores of 476 who submitted their profile in the EE pool prior to the chosen date-time, got an ITA.

The tie-break rule helps to rank immigration candidates with the same CRS scores. It’s the primary factor in selecting candidates to be invited to apply for PR.

Every eligible candidate for each program is issued a CRS score under Express Entry. The score is dependent on factors such as education, work experience, age, and English or French language proficiency.

Express Entry candidates are not required to have a job offer for eligibility. Nevertheless, additional points are given to candidates who have one.

There is a set number of high-scoring candidates who are issued an invitation to apply for Canadian PR via regular draws from the Express Entry pool. Such draws are conducted once in ever 2 weeks.

The standard processing time for Canadian permanent residence applications filed via Express Entry system is 6 months.

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to Canada, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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