Express Entry: Canada invites 3,343 CEC applicants

Number of invitations issued: 3,343 ^{Footnote *}

Rank required to be invited to apply: 3,343^th or above

Date and time of round: July 23, 2020 at 12:24:39 UTC

CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 445

Tie-breaking rule: July 12, 2020 at 15:16:55 UTC

• If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.

The third express entry draw of July 2020, which is also express entry’s draw number 157 has taken place on July 23rd. In the latest draw, the Canadian government has issued 3343 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence. The minimum score required to secure an invite in this draw is 445.

This draw was restricted to candidates in the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), meaning that candidates the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Federal Skilled Trades (FST) programs were not considered.

Express Entry is a system that the federal government uses to manage applications for Canada’s three main economic-class programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Invitations were issued to a total of 3,343 Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates. A Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 445 was enough to ensure an Invitation to Apply (ITA).

Today’s CRS cut-off score was 14 points higher than the previous CEC-specific draw  on June 25, which had a CRS cut-off score of 431. The increase in points is due to more candidates being entered into the pool over the past month after Canada held an all-program draw on July 8.

Program-specific draws suggest that Express Entry isn’t quite back to normal

Since COVID-19 became a public health crisis in Canada, IRCC had been restricting draws to candidates from either Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) or Canadian Experience Class (CEC). However, on July 8, Express Entry returned to all-program draws for the first time in more than four months. This week’s two draws reversed that trend, returning to a program-specific draws for provincial nominees and CEC candidates.

Throughout the health crisis, IRCC has limited most draws to candidates in CEC and PNPs, as most of these candidates are in Canada, and the country has obligations to meet annual provincial allocations through PNPs.

This draw suggests that IRCC may take a sort of hybrid approach to Express Entry as it attempts a return to normal: conducting some all-program draws and some program-specific draws. As well, while the COVID-19 health crisis remains under control in Canada, the global situation remains unstable and shockwaves may continue to reverberate throughout Canadian immigration.