The first Express Entry draw of June 2019 is here! Held on June 12, the latest draw invited 3, 350 candidates to apply for permanent residence (PR) and reduced the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score by 5 points to 465. This draw marks a welcome return to two-week intervals between draws which allow for more candidates and lower-ranking candidates to earn their own Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for Canadian PR.
Do you want to immigrate to Canada in as little as six months? Then the Express Entry (EE) system is for you. Find out how the system works, how we can help you apply and more about the latest draw below.
What is Express Entry?
The EE system was created to speed up Canadian immigration application processing. It manages the pool of candidates who qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Trades Program and Canadian Experience Class. To have your application processed by EE, you will need to create a separate online EE profile in addition to meeting the requirements for one of the aforementioned programs. Your EE profile will be assigned a CRS score, which is out of a possible maximum 1, 200, and entered into the pool of candidates. Here it will be ranked against other candidates based on their CRS score.
Every two week or so, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (RCIC) holds an EE draw wherein they select the top scoring profiles for Canadian PR. Candidates who receive an ITA from a draw have 60 days to complete the application for permanent residence otherwise they forfeit the invitation. If you do not get selected, you will be reentered into the pool where it will be considered for the following draws for the rest of the year.
As you can see from the above, Canadian immigration follows a merit-based system, meaning you will need a high CRS score in order to migrate to Canada. There are several ways you can improve your score and you can continually update your profile to match these changes.
Latest Express Entry Draw
The latest draw is a welcome departure from previous draws. With a minimum CRS cut off score of 465, 5 points less than the previous draw, the June 12 draw invited 3, 350 candidates to apply for Canadian PR. The time between draws was the normal 14 days, which could explain the drop in CRS. A shorter time between draws gives the pool of candidates less time to replenish with high ranking candidates, which pushes down the CRS requirement.
The tie break rule was instituted for the latest draw and the timestamp used was June 6, 2019 at 13:51:59 UTC. This means that all EE candidates with CRS scores of more than 465 and those with CRS scores equal to 465, who also entered their profile into the pool of candidates before the timestamp, were issued ITAs.
Below are hypothetical examples of the kind of profiles that obtained ITAs:
James is a 30-year-old doctor with 5 years of work experience, a bachelor’s degree and a master's degree. He is also fluent in English and scored very highly on his IELTS test. He has never studied or worked in Canada. Taking these factors into consideration, his CRS score would be 467 which is enough to be issued with an ITA.
Susan is a 31-year-old software engineer with 6 years of work experience. She is also fluent in English but has never worked in Canada before. Her CRS score is 465 which would have earned her an ITA.
Following the latest draw, the IRCC has issued a total of 38, 450 ITAs to EE candidates in 2019. This trend has kept Canada on track with their EE target of 81, 400, but as with previous years, it is likely the country will issue more ITAs than this figure. With higher immigration targets than ever before, 2019 will surely surpass 2018 as the new record year for EE!
How We Can Help You
There are over 70 different Canadian immigration programs, each with their own unique set of requirements. Figuring out which program to apply for can be very difficult, which is why the first step of our services is determining which programs you qualify for. Our team of dedicated Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) will evaluate your profile against the criteria of all the immigration programs, including those managed by Express Entry, to find the ones best suited to you.
After you have received your results, we will apply for your chosen program on your behalf. Again, our team of RCICs will ensure that your application is correct, complete and delivered on time. This process will allow you to be confident in your application’s success.
So what are you waiting for? Spots are filling up fast and Canada could be looking for you! Sign up today to start your journey to The Great White North.
