Express Entry invites 1,002 PNP candidates in new draw

Canada issued 1,002 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence on June 23.

All invited candidates had previously received a nomination from a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

Selected candidates needed to meet the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 742 in order to receive an ITA. The score is relatively high because all PNP candidates in the Express Entry pool automatically get an additional 600 points added to their CRS score when they receive a provincial nomination.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published a cut-off time for the tie-break rule as per administrative requirements. Candidates who had the minimum CRS score only received an ITA if they submitted their Express Entry profile before February 18, 2021, at 04:04:56 UTC. The IRCC must publish the tie-break rule regardless of if there was any actual tie.

The last two PNP-only draws had CRS scores just over 710, and now the score has risen quite a bit.

So far in 2021, IRCC has invited 82,715 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence. This time last year, IRCC had only issued 46,000 ITAs to immigration candidates.

Up until earlier this week, approved permanent residents could not travel to Canada to complete their landing and activate their status. Now, they are able to travel to Canada so long as they have a valid Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR).

Although Canada’s travel restrictions are starting to scale back, the borders are still closed to non-essential travel. In addition, the flight ban from India was recently extended another month.

The IRCC has set an ambitious goal to admit 108,500 new immigrants through Express Entry-managed programs in 2021.