Express Entry Latest Draw: First-ever FSWP-only draw
In the Express Entry latest draw Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada offered Invitations to Apply for Canada PR Visa to 3,300 candidates. The eligible candidates seeking to migrate to Canada who received the ITAs in the draw held on February 2, 2023, had a score of 489 in the CRS calculator.
For the first time after the launch of Express Entry in 2015, IRCC offered ITAs to only Federal Skilled Worker Program candidates. It was the second draw of the year which was program-specific. The first such draw was held on February 1 offering ITAs to only those candidates having nominations from a province.
2023 for Express Entry
Usually, draws are held in Express Entry once every 14 days on Wednesdays. But the year 2023 is witnessing deviation from this trend established after the launch of the program in 2015.
On January 11 the first Express Entry draw for Express Entry was conducted after a gap of 6 weeks. The last draw before this draw was held by IRCC on 23 November 2022. It was later revealed by IRCC that the pause was owing to a technical hitch resulting from the transition to NOC 2021 from NOC 2016.
The first draw for 2023 offered ITAs to 5,500 candidates having a CRS score of at least 507. This was the maximum number of ITAs and the least CRS cut-off after the resumption of the all-program draws. The draws were paused from December 2020 till July 2022 due to the pandemic.
In the subsequent week, IRCC conducted the next draw on January 28 and again offered ITAs to 5,500 candidates with a lowered CRS score of 490. It was astonishing because normally IRCC does not offer ITAs to candidates in consecutive weeks.
IRCC again deviates from the norm
On February 1, 2023, IRCC conducted the draw in Express Entry as expected after a gap of 2 weeks. However, it was the first draw after June 2022 that only those candidates in Express Entry who had a nomination from a province received the ITA.
Program-specific draws are not a norm for IRCC even prior to the pandemic. Almost all draws after the launch of Express Entry has been all-program draws with an exception of some Federal Skilled Trades Program-only draws.
After the resumption of all-program draws due to the pause from the pandemic, there were no PNP-only draws held by IRCC till now. During the pause of 18 months, ITAs were offered to only those candidates who had a provincial nomination. Nomination from a province offers 600 extra CRS points to the Express Entry candidates.
The likely trends ahead
The year 2023 is all set to witness several changes in the Express Entry System. The most innovative change will be the implementation of target draws legally facilitated after the passage of Bill C-19.
The latest law offers authority to the Immigration Minster of Canada to offer ITAs to candidates who can fulfill the economic priorities of Canada and fill pressing gaps in the labor market. It is irrespective of the CRS scores of such candidates.
Recently, IRCC completed the deliberations on the likely format of the new categories that will be based on attributes. These could range from the language proficiency, work experience, education, or occupation of the candidates. IRCC has said that these categories will be declared prior to the draws.
All-program vs. Program-specific draws
From July 2022 till now, IRCC has been conducting only all-program draws by considering all qualified candidates in Express Entry for ITAs. All-program draw implies that ITAs can be offered to candidates from any of the 3 economic immigration programs without any need for provincial nomination.
However, program-specific draws like February 1 which was PNP-only and February 2 FSWP-only offer ITAs to only candidates from specific programs. In the latter draw, candidates required a least score of 133 in CRS to qualify prior to receiving the provincial nomination.
PNPs permit provinces in Canada to offer nominations to people who can cater to their regional population and labor market objectives. The majority of provinces and territories have Express Entry linked streams in their PNPs excluding Nunavut and Quebec.
Express Entry Program
The online application management system for 3 Canadian economic immigration programs is known as the Express Entry System. These are:
- The Canadian Experience Class - CEC
- The Federal Skilled Worker Program - FSWP
- The Federal Skilled Trades Program - FSTP
PNP candidates in the Express Entry system are already qualified for any 1 of these 3 programs.
The Comprehensive Ranking System is a points-based system used by Express Entry for ranking profiles of candidates. Those with the highest scores receive ITAs for Canada PR Visa.
To apply for a Canada PR Visa contact ICCRC-accredited Immigration Consultants at Nationwide Visas today.