The July 23 draw had the lowest CRS requirement of the month

Canada held another Express Entry draw on July 23, the second invitation round held in two days.

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.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has held these program-specific draws since the coronavirus pandemic caused Canada’s border to close in March. They have all taken place shortly after  Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)-specific draws, and the number of ITAs from the two draws combined add up to a round number.

Yesterday, IRCC returned to program-specific draws with 557 PNP candidates receiving ITAs.

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).

Some provinces also have provincial programs that are aligned with the Express Entry system.

In the Express Entry system, candidates are ranked based on their CRS score that considers multiple factors including their age, work experience, education and proficiency in French or English. In some cases, the date and time at which the Express Entry profile was created is also a ranking factor.

Today’s draw saw the tie-break rule implemented. The tie-break rule is used to rank candidates who have the same CRS score (at the cut-off) based on the date and time the profile was created.

The tie-breaking rule for today’s draw was implemented for July 12, 2020 at 15:16:55 UTC. This means that candidates with a CRS score of 445 were only invited if their profile was submitted before this date and time.

This draw brings the total number of invitations issued in 2020 to 57,700.

Despite coronavirus, this number still exceeds the number of invitations issued at the same time last year and the year before.

Candidates who wish to submit their Express Entry profile may still do so despite any coronavirus-related restrictions in place. IRCC continues to accept submissions to the Express Entry system.

Who is invited?

The following are hypothetical examples of candidates who would have had a CRS score high enough to receive an ITA in this draw:

Salma is 33 years old and has been working in Canada for one year as a graphic designer since completing her bachelors degree in Canada. She wrote the IELTS and scored an 8 in listening, a 7.5 in speaking, a 7.5 in writing and a 7 in reading. Salma’s CRS of 446 and eligibility under the CEC would have allowed her to obtain an ITA during the July 23 Express Entry draw.

Nabil is 38, holds a bachelors degree and has been working as a management consultant outside of Canada for six years. Nabil has an advanced English language proficiency and worked in Canada for a year, in 2019. Nabil’s CRS score of 445 as well as his eligibility under the CEC would have allowed him to obtain an ITA in the July 23 Express Entry draw.