Express Entry is Canada’s application management system for three federal immigration programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, and Canadian Experience Class.

Candidates in these programs, as well as some PNPs, are given a score based on the CRS. These points are awarded based on the candidate’s human capital factors such as age, education, work experience, and language ability in English or French.

The points may be awarded to an individual or a couple. Express Entry candidates do not need to have any experience in Canada in order to be invited to apply for permanent residence. They do not need a job offer, but it may give them some extra points.

The highest-scoring candidates receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence through regular Express Entry rounds of invitation. Once an application has been submitted, IRCC will make a final decision and send a Confirmation of Permanent Residence if the application is accepted. The final step for approved permanent residents is to settle in Canada and apply for a PR Card. At this stage, such individuals are officially immigrated to Canada and may eventually apply for citizenship.

In case of a tie between candidates, IRCC applies the tie-breaking rule. In the latest draw, candidates who had a CRS score of 720 or more, needed to have submitted their Express Entry profile before August 14, 2020, at 6:51:00 UTC in order to receive an invitation.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 was a record-breaking year for Express Entry. By the end, Canada had issued 108,350 ITAs to Express Entry candidates. This year is expected to be even bigger, as IRCC has raised immigration targets to make up for the reduced number of new permanent residents admitted to Canada last year.

IRCC has now issued 10,654 ITAs through four program-specific draws to start 2021.

The year 2021 is expected to see further increases as IRCC has boosted immigration targets to compensate for the reduced number of new permanent residents admitted to Canada last year. IRCC is also likely to place greater reliance on potential immigrants and skilled workers already in Canada to meet these targets, in part due to the ongoing coronavirus measures and the current challenges associated with border closures and restrictions.

IRCC has not yet held an all-program draw in 2021.

Canada is expected to welcome 401,000 new immigrants this year, of these, 108,500 are allocated to come through an Express Entry-managed program. These targets are expected to go up over the next three years, rising to 110,500 in 2022 and 113,750 in 2023.

Who is invited?

Waleed and Maha are married and are ages 34 and 31, respectively. They both bachelor’s degrees, and wrote the IELTS, with matching scores of 8 in listening and 7 in reading, speaking and writing. Maha has been working as a computer programmer for the past three years while Waleed has been working in finance for four years. Neither Waleed nor Maha has ever worked or studied in Canada. They entered the Express Entry pool with Maha as the principal applicant and a CRS score of 421. Maha then received a notification of interest from Ontario and was able to apply for a provincial nomination through the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). Sara’s CRS score increased to 1021 and she received an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence during the February 10 Express Entry draw.